


Wired: Metta's Story

by DietCrowbarWriting



Category: Crowbar Crew (Webseries), Gravity Falls, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character development for flamboyant glitterbot, Crowbar Crew, I intend to make readers HURT, Meant to tell Mettaton's story, Mettaton and Bill-centric, Mettaton pisses everyone off, Murder, Post-Gravity Falls, Psychological Trauma, Swearing, Takes place after Undertale, Takes place in a very complicated alternate universe, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, Weirdmageddon, You don't need to know what the Crowbar Crew is to read this, a lot of OCs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2020-08-10 10:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20133865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DietCrowbarWriting/pseuds/DietCrowbarWriting
Summary: Eighteen year old Mettaton Blook is finally ready to achieve his dreams and become the star that both humans and monsters admire. He's confident that nothing can stop him now.Until something does.Rejected by the human with the ability to get him his show, Mettaton is desperate. Desperate enough that when a mystical being appears in his dreams with an offer he just CAN'T refuse, Mettaton shakes his hand without a second thought.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Mistral Pines just had the most boring summer of her life. While her cousins were fighting a demon in Gravity Falls, Oregon, she was sitting in her room reading a book.Then she meets Mettaton. Egotistical, insufferable, and yet so charming, she loves him and hates him at the same time.The two are bound together in ways Mistral never expected, and form an uneasy friendship. That's why, when he makes a deadly mistake, she, with the help of the quirky redheaded Rose, is the one who has to save him from himself.





	1. A Change In Tone

**Author's Note:**

> So I came up with this story about two years ago. It used to be just like a fun crossover story but then it got more complicated and now my friends and I are making a Webseries about what happens after this, because we love hurting Metta. Anyway I'm really proud of how far it's come and now it really feels like my own, something to be appreciated not just because of Undertale and Gravity Falls! I hope you guys give it a chance and enjoy!
> 
> Also just a thing I feel I should mention, most of the interactions with canon characters end up more important in later chapters so if you're really interested in that I do have those planned too!

_Once upon a time, there was a child. The child's name was Frisk, and they just so happened to be an orphan. One day, the foster home that Frisk lived in took a trip to a nearby mountain called Mt. Ebott, which had a mysterious legend surrounding it. The legend reads thus:_

**Those who climb the mountain are said to disappear. **

_Frisk, being quite the curious child, wandered away from the group and fell down a deep, dark, hole... and found themself somewhere else entirely. _

_Deep, down in the underground, beneath Mt. Ebott, monsters were sealed away thousands of years ago after a brutal war between them and humans. The humans feared the monsters' power, so they drove them below, using seven of their greatest magicians to seal them with a powerful barrier that only a human SOUL may pass. However, if a monster gained seven human SOULs, the barrier could be destroyed. _

_Frisk, determined to return home, began to journey through the underground, being kind to them despite their attempts to kill the small human in order to escape. Frisk encountered many strange monsters, becoming friends with all of them._

_ One such monster was a young robot who went by the name of_

**Mettaton**

"-might be better if I stay here awhile."

Mettaton could hear his voice quavering. It embarrassed him a little, as he'd never shown this much vulnerability while on air, but the phone call from his dear cousin had truly affected him. He wasn't sure what to do. How had he gotten here? Leaving Blooky behind had seemed like the right choice at the time... but had it been?

"Humans already have stars and idols, but monsters... they only have me." Mettaton continued speaking, feeling the guilt for all that he'd done. He'd tried to kill a small child for his own personal gain, and he'd almost left behind the monsters that loved him. He quite literally represented the HOPE of the underground... considering he was the only TV channel. Although it did quite fit, as his SOUL trait was HOPE.

"If I left, the underground would lose its spark. I'd leave an aching void that could never be filled.

So, I think I'll have to delay my big debut. Besides..." He found himself smiling genuinely at the small child, something he hadn't done towards anyone in quite a while.

Well, he hadn't even had a mouth for a while, but, y'know.

"You've proven to be VERY strong. Perhaps... even strong enough to get past Asgore...

I'm sure you'll be able to protect humanity." Maybe Mettaton would be able to perform on the surface someday after all...

He chuckled softly. This had all been a mistake...

"The truth is, this forms' energy consumption is... inefficient." He could feel himself losing consciousness. In front of his eyes, the words POWER LEVEL LOW were flashing. "In just a few short moments, I'll run out of battery power, and... well..."

Mettaton's eyes closed. His voice was quite quiet. "I'll be alright." He silently prayed that the human would make it past Asgore okay. Humanity had to live on!

His eyes opened, flashing a huge grin at the human and his audience. "Knock 'em dead, darling!

And everyone... thank you. You've been a great audience..."

He lost power.

***

**Where am I? What happened?** Mettaton shifted, only to find himself strapped down. **Huh?** He opened his eyes. He was in Alphys' lab. . . and wait. Was he in his EX form? Suddenly it all came flooding back. The human. . . and Alphys. . . and Blooky! My darling Blooky. . . He was interrupted from his extremely confusing jumble of thoughts by Dr. Alphys walking into the room.

Mettaton sucked in a breath. Oh dear, what had he done...? Alphys likely felt very hurt by his actions towards her and the human... Maybe he should apologize- no. Absolutely not. A star doesn't need to apologize, the world would forgive him anyway.

Alphys looked up and made eye contact with Mettaton. She usually looked at her feet, it was an awful habit. Mettaton shifted his gaze. "O-Oh! You're... A-Awake," she said in her usual stutter. "H-How do you feel...?"

"I feel... Fine, Alphys-darling," he said quietly. It was only partially a lie.

She stared at him for another moment, then walked across over to him and unstrapped him from the working table. Mettaton sat up and moved his joints, making sure they all worked properly. Everything was to his satisfaction, Alphys had fixed him up wonderfully.

Mettaton glanced at Alphys to find her watching him. "E-Everything working fine...?"

"Of course," he said with a forced smile.

Alphys forced a smile back at him and turned away. Mettaton couldn't take this anymore. He had to just swallow his pride and apologize. She was halfway across the room before Mettaton stopped her. "A-Alphys, sweetheart, wait!"

She turned back at him. "Y-Yes?"

"I- uh, well-" She looked a little surprised to hear him stutter. Mettaton felt rather humiliated. "I'm sorry." He managed to force out. She looked even more surprised at his apology.

"I'm sorry I was a terrible friend to you, and betrayed your trust, and tried to kill the human." His voice shook a little. He hadn't genuinely apologized for a while now. He was a little surprised to find just how much he cared about Alphys' friendship.

"...They're a child, Mettaton," she responded after a moment.

"I know."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it, Mettaton! You can't possibly understand how I feel right now!" Her voice grew louder with each word she spoke. Mettaton had never seen her this angry before. "You're just a shallow idiot who only cares about himself!"

"I care!" Mettaton could feel his own temper quickly rising.

"Oh really? Well, I guarantee that sooner or later you'll forget about me and move on, just like you did to your cousin!"

Mettaton's light pink eyes widened. He felt a sudden wave of sadness. That phone call... oh, Blooky...

"Oh, Mettaton, I'm s-sorry..." Her stutter was back. "Th-That was crossing the line."

Mettaton's voice was soft and quiet. "Let's just agree to call it even and be friends again."

"O-Okay."

***

Mettaton knocked on the door of the blue house nervously and stepped back, clutching the paintball gun. What if Blooky was mad at him? What if this went totally wrong? No, it had to go well...

The door opened. Mettaton let out a shot of hot pink MTT-Brand Ghost Paint, and his cousin was coated in it. Mettaton grinned mischievously as the ghost looked at him, shocked and tearing up... but Mettaton could tell they were exasperated as well.

"Hey, Blooky."


	2. Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistral Pines, cousin to Dipper and Mabel, establishes herself.

**Mistral**

_Her hair blows in the wind. The sunshine warms her cheeks. The beautiful ocean stretches out in front of her. She smiles, enjoying every second of it. She's grown up near the ocean, and feels completely at home here. _

_Suddenly the ocean grows dark, dark as the night sky, and she steps back, gasping. The darkness surrounds her. She can do nothing. She falls to her knees and lets out a scream. The shadows terrify her. Always have. _

_Something is coming._

Mistral Pines awoke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks. That dream had felt so real... But it had only been a trick of the imagination. She dried her eyes and glanced at the clock.

9:30. It was time to get up. She jumped out bed, excited for what would happen today. She sat at her vanity and brushed through her long brown hair with pink highlights. It wasn't too hard, as she make a habit of doing so every morning and night. When she had finished, she pulled on a sunshiney yellow and pink dress (Her favourite colours!)

Mistral went downstairs. "Good morning!" She said cheerfully. "What's for breakfast?"

Her mother, Ellen Pines, placed a plate of waffles on the table. "See for yourself, sweetie," she said, kissing Mistral's forehead.

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "WAFFLESSSSS!!!" Her parents exchanged a look and laughed.

"So, you're up early today" said her father, Ray Pines. "Anything exciting happening?" There was a teasing glint in his blue eyes.

Mistral nodded. "Today's the day that Dipper and Mabel get back from Gravity Falls!" She said. "I've been talking about it for days, you must remember!"

"We remember." said her parents. Everyone laughed.

After breakfast, Mistral left the house and made her way to Piedmont Bus Services. She had a book and some sandwiches to keep her occupied until her older cousins got there.

She was so lost in her book, she didn't even notice when the bus pulled up to the station. She didn't hear it when the driver announced: "Piedmont, California!" She didn't notice when her cousins got out. She didn't notice anything until her cousin Mabel Pines got up really close to Mistral and yelled at the top of her lungs:

"HI MISTRAL WE'RE BACK FROM GRAVITY FALLS AND YOU'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT WE DID THIS SUMMER!!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH MABEL WHY" yelled Mistral, tossing her book aside.

"Mabel!" said Mabel's twin brother, Dipper Pines.

"Sorry Mistral!" said Mabel. "But look! I got a pig!" The excitable girl thrust a pig into Mistral's arms. "His name is Waddles!"

"Hello, Waddles," said Mistral softly. "He's adorable, Mabel!" She handed the pig back to Mabel, grinning.

Mistral turned to Dipper. "Sooooo?" She said.

Dipper looked confused. "So what?" He asked.

"How was your summer?" Mistral asked. "I've been dying to find out since your letters were so vague and I really wish I'd gone with you but I couldn't and I-"

Dipper cut her off. "Calm down!" he said. "We'll tell you everything, but we should go somewhere more... private."

He started walking in the direction of home. Mistral followed her cousin with Mabel next to her. Something really exciting must have happened... 

***

"-and then we wiped Grunkle Stan's memories to defeat Bill so the town would go back to normal and it did, but Grunkle Stan didn't remember us so we had to show him all of our pictures and videos to get his memories back!" Said Mabel excitedly. She'd gone on for the past who knows how long in a similar fashion.

Mistral was speechless. "Um. Uh. What?" She said.

"The paranormal are real and live in Gravity Falls," said Dipper as a summary.

"That's a lot to take in," said Mistral, stating the obvious. "...Wish I'd been there..."

Dipper smiled. "Wish you'd been there, too..."

"Well, at least you got to spend time with your dad!" Said Mabel.

"Yeah, I guess that was nice..." replied Mistral. "Still..."

Suddenly the TV in the other room cut in: "-Thousands of years, the legends about monsters under Mt. Ebott appear to be true. Marcie Fleming is on the scene," the news reporter said.

"Mt Ebott?" Mistral exclaimed. "That's not too far from here!"

The Pines dashed into the other room.

"Thank you, Ariel," said Marcie. "Down here at Mt. Ebott, the monsters are mostly very... excited." The sound of cheers in the background backed that up. "I'm here with their king, Asgore Dreemurr. Asgore, what do you have to say to all the humans who are viewing this?"

"I hope we can make amends and live on the surface in peace," said Asgore. "Also, I-"

Before he could say anything else, a... very flamboyant robot? Cut across him.

"Hello, darlings! Your true star has arrived!" He said and waved at the camera. "My name... is Mettaton!" He dramatically put his leg in the air.

"Hey, punk!" A blue-skinned fish-lady yelled. "Respect the king!"

"Uh-oh," said Mettaton, running away from the fish, who chased him. As he fled he yelled, " Remember my name!"

Mistral squealed. He was so cool!

"These monsters have been freed by Frisk, an orphan who went missing about a week ago." She leaned down to a child about Mistral's age with short hair and a striped shirt. "How did you do it, Frisk?" Marcie asked.

"With DETERMINATION!" replied Frisk.

Marcie stood up. "... right," she said. "Anyway, Dr. Ray Pines has said that he will offer them space in his lab, so he and his associates can also study them and make sure they don't harbor any, uh, grudges."

Just then the phone rang, and Dipper answered. He had an excited conversation with someone he called "Great Uncle Ford".

"What was that all about, Mason?" Mistral asked teasingly once he hung up.

"Don't... Don't call me Mason," he replied.

Mistral laughed. "Just answer the question!" He rolled his eyes.

"Since your dad is researching those monsters... Our Grunkles are postponing their trip and coming here to help!"

Mistral gasped. This was so exciting!

She couldn't wait to meet them all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my writing in this chapter is kinda subpar (it's the only chapter version that survived from my cringy writing era) but while I finish writing all the chapters I think it does a good enough job of telling the story. My characterization of Mistral gets a lot better later on, so yeah.


	3. A Strange Sensation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton and Mistral meet each other and it's weird, immediately followed by Mettaton meets Stanley Pines(?) and it's weird.

**Mettaton**

Mettaton sighed, bored. A day of sitting around in Dr. Pines' lab was NOT doing him any favours. How was he supposed to woo humanity if he was in a lab? Unfortunately for him, he happened to be a one-of-a-kind monster- especially now that he'd come out as a ghost. This made him quite interesting to Dr. Pines. Which meant a lot of boredom and a lot of talking to science nerds.

He stood up and left the room that had been given to him. He didn't want to just sit there forever! Maybe he could go out and talk to some humans... Yeah, that sounded like a good idea! If he could do that, he'd surely get on television... 

He reached the foyer of the lab and was delighted to see there were actual people there! This would be wonderful! He took a step into the foyer and immediately was swept on by Ray and some old man. 

"This is the robot I was telling you about," said Ray. "A machine with a SOUL..." 

Mettaton flashed a smile. "Uh, hello, darling," he said. "I'm Mettaton. It's simply lovely to meet you, sir!" Surprise flashed through the man's eyes, before quickly vanishing. "Er- It's... lovely to meet you too, Mettaton," fumbled the man. "My name is Stanford Pines, but you can call me Ford."

"Alright, Ford!"

"Ford is my uncle, and he's also a scientist," said Ray. "He specializes in the supernatural."

"The supernatural, huh?" Mettaton chuckled. "I've heard ghosts described as that by humans. I must be quite an interest to you, huh?" 

"All the monsters are," said Ford. "The timing of this all..." He appeared to be lost in thought. Mettaton tilted his head. "Anyway, I doubt you came down here to be bothered by a couple of scientists. We'll let you carry on your way."

The two walked off down some hall. Mettaton glanced around the room. The remaining humans occupying it consisted of an adolescent boy and two girls, and another old man with striking resemblance to Ford. This particular old man happened to make eye contact with Mettaton, and for a split second, Mettaton could swear his eyes flashed yellow. 

This chilled Mettaton, and he quickly started off towards the door. He didn't get very far, however, before a young, high-pitched voice interrupted his progress.

"Mettaton?"

He turned around. The owner of the voice was a young girl of about twelve or thirteen, with long golden-brown hair that had pink highlights in it, sea green eyes, and a curious demeanor. She was wearing light pink, almost white jeans and a magenta tank top. On her feet were neon yellow and pink hightops. Mettaton could certainly tell what her favourite colours were.

"You're looking at him!" He winked. The girl gasped slightly. She seemed pretty awestruck. Which was pretty fair, considering who Mettaton was. He supposed she must have seen him on that news story, which meant that stunt HAD had some effect!

"I- oh wow. You're even more amazing in person!" The girl said, her tone pretty fan-girly. Mettaton was used to dealing with those.

"Oh, why, thank you, darling!" He flashed his TV smile, the one all his fans seemed to love. This girl certainly did.

The girl was really fidgety. Foot tapping, arm rubs, the whole package. "So, uh... I saw you on the news and I just have to say, I really liked what I saw. You seemed, like, really cool." She paused for a second, her cheeks darkening slightly. "Aw jeez, I sound like every fangirl ever now, don't I..."

Mettaton laughed slightly. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. Most people can hardly control themselves around me. Slipping into the generic fangirl routine is perfectly natural, I just have that effect on people." 

The girl blinked, a little less awestruck than before. "Wow, okay, ego much?" She seemed highly amused. Mettaton felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He'd promised himself he'd work on that! Apparently it was a big turn-off for people.

He attempted to keep his composure and not let the girl know she'd hit a weak spot. He couldn't have his fans feeling bad, now could he? "...Too much, darling? I suppose I do come on a little strong sometimes..."

The girl raised an eyebrow at him.

Mettaton realized there was no way out of this situation. "Okay, you're right, I suppose my fame HAS gone to my head a little..."

There was an awkward pause.

Mettaton broke the silence."Well, lovely, would you like a selfie or something?"

The girl blinked. "Uh, sure, that sounds great!" She pulled out her phone and stood beside Mettaton, who struck a pose. The girl pressed the camera button and soon enough, stepped away, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

"Um, maybe I'll see you around...? Ray Pines is my dad, soooooo..." She looked rather hopeful. Which was ironic, considering Mettaton's SOUL trait.

"Of course, of course..." Mettaton didn't have much intention of seeing this girl again. She was only a fan. She wasn't important to him, whatever she thought.

Mettaton held out his hand for a shake. "I'm Mettaton Blook, TV star."

The girl accepted his handshake. "Mistral Pines, nice to meet ya."

As soon as their hands touched, Mettaton felt a flash of something. It seared his mind, leaving a deep imprint. And for a moment, he felt... Excitement? But why? He wasn't particularly excited about anything... There was confusion. Mettaton was quite confused, so this made sense. Or did it? The brightness in his mind made it hard to think.

Mettaton quickly pulled his hand away, suddenly dizzy. He stared into Mistral's eyes, uncertain what had just happened, but he could tell by her expression that she had felt it too. 

Mistral stared back for a moment, then turned away. "Well, bye..." she said, her voice betraying her confusion. She walked away back to the other boy and girl.

"Bye, darling..."

Unable to quite process what had just happened, Mettaton walked back up to his room. He needed to lie down. And it might be good to charge, that would probably help...

Mettaton reached his room and, shutting the door behind him, he plugged himself into the wall and lay down on the bed, holding a hand to his head and willing the headache to go away. Stars were absolutely not supposed to get headaches. However, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mettaton groaned quietly to himself, but as was his duty as a star, he forced some energy into his voice and called out, "Come in..."

Whoever it was opened the door. "Is this the room of the famous Mettaton?" 

Mettaton sat up and looked over. It was the old man from before, the one who's eyes... Well, Mettaton couldn't even see his eyes now. The man's eyeglasses appeared to be shaded. Although, Mettaton couldn't imagine why. They were inside. 

"That it is, darling," he said, smiling lightly. "What brings you here today?"

"Well, you just seemed really interesting, and I couldn't resist coming to talk to you." The man paused. "You were some sort of star in the underground, correct?"

"Correct, darling!" Mettaton was rather taken aback by this man's smooth tone of voice. His appearance would never imply he could talk like this. It was rather... charming. "You're the second human today to already know who I am!" This made Mettaton very excited. He almost wanted to jump up and squeal with joy, but that would be ridiculous. Instead, he sat still, keeping his composure.

"Like I said, you seemed interesting." The man paused, his tone shifting to curiosity. "...What are you, exactly?"

Mettaton inwardly sighed, tired of humans asking him this. But his confident TV smile never faded. "I'm a ghost inhabiting the shell of my robot body. The faaaaaabulous Dr. Alphys built it for me!"

"Hm... What's that heart thing...?"

Mettaton glanced down at the heart and then back up at the man. "Oh! Uh... That, is my SOUL! SOUL of HOPE, at your service..." 

The man said something Mettaton couldn't quite hear.

"What was that?" Mettaton's head tilted slightly with curiosity, which it did any time he was curious about something.

The man smiled warmly. "Oh, nothing... I'm Stanley Pines, but call me Stan."

"I'm Mettaton Blook, it's simply divine to meet you, Stan!"

"Likewise." Stan checked his watch. "Oh, well, I've got to go, I promised my brother I'd help you with something... See you around?"

"Yes, of course!" Mettaton genuinely liked Stan, it was something about the way he spoke... 

Stan left the room.

Mettaton lay back down and thought about everything that had happened. One thing's for sure, surface life would NOT be boring!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the groove of this story, it alternates perfectly between Metta and Mistral so next chapter is a Mistral chapter. Mistral's chapters talk a lot about Mettaton, so thinking about it, her chapters fill in literally all the blanks of Mettaton's parts and make him look like more of a douche. Success!


	4. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistral's SOUL is examined because she is dizzy.

**Mistral**

Where had this dizzy sensation come from? There'd been a bright sensation, accompanied by a sense of confidence and pride, and then confusion, and then...

"Mistral?" came a voice. "What's up?"

Mistral looked up. Somehow she'd walked over to Mabel and Dipper.

"Mistral, what's up?" Asked Mabel again.

"Yeah, you look bothered by something," said Dipper, sounding concerned. "Did that guy say something to you?"

Mistral shook her head. "N-No... but there was..." at that moment she spotted her father Ray. "Tell you later!"

She ran over to her father. "Dad! Dad!" Her anxious tones caught his attention immediately.

"What's the problem, Mistral?" He looked down at her, his eyes concerned.

Mistral gripped Ray's jacket sleeves in a sort of desperate half hug. She didn't know exactly what to tell him... she didn't even understand it herself.

"I... uh, well..." Mistral hesitated. "Something really weird happened and I don't know what to do!"

"Sit down, love," Ray said it gently, moving her over to a chair. Mistral sunk into it, wrapping her arms around herself. "And just tell me what happened."

"W-Well... I met Mettaton a few minutes ago..."

Her father smiled. "Ah, yes, the robotic one... what did you think?"

"He has a big ego," Mistral smiled slightly. "But that's not the point... we shook hands, and when our hands touched, oh, I don't know... it was almost like... I could feel him? Like what he was thinking?"

She looked up at Ray. He looked thoughtful. "Hm... this may be a form of monster magic, although it has not occurred in any of my interactions with Mettaton... I believe we should ask Dr. Alphys. She knows quite a bit about monster science." Ray paused, deep in thought. "She was actually the one who created... yes, I do believe she'll be able to shed some light on what happened."

He smiled down at Mistral, who smiled back, eager to meet another monster. Her father, holding her hand, started to walk into the lab and down some hallways. Mistral was a little hesitant... her last encounter with a monster had CAUSED this dizzy feeling. Dr. Alphys probably wouldn't have the same effect on her... right?

Oh, she was being ridiculous. It had probably just been some sort of electrical shock. She had nothing to worry about.

"Alphys?" Ray stuck his head through a door, calling out to a small yellow monster whom Mistral thought rather resembled a dinosaur. She wondered if there was any relation and resolved to ask the little monster at a good time.

'Alphys' looked up, appearing startled. She dropped the book in her hand and hastily scrambled to pick it up.

"Y-Yes, Ray?" She put it on the book behind her, but Mistral caught a glimpse of a sparkly anime teen girl with cat ears. She had no idea what to make of this.

"This is my daughter, Mistral," said Mistral's father warmly. "I told you about her, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Alphys gave Mistral a nervous wave. Mistral responded with an encouraging smile and a bright, "Hi!"

When Mistral glanced up at her father, she noticed him looking between the two with an excited curiosity. He must have really been hoping for them to like each other... Mistral nudged him. "Dad...!"

"Oh! Right." Ray cleared his throat. "So, Alphys, I was just telling Mistral that you built Mettaton's robotic body..."

Alphys nodded. Mistral's father looked at her again and nodded at her, clearly implying that she should be the one to tell Alphys what had happened.

"W-Well, uh, I was talking to him, 'cause he just seemed so cool, but..." Mistral still wasn't sure how to describe what had happened. "Our hands touched, and there was like, a flash, and I felt something weird... I'm not really sure what it was. But Dad said that maybe it was something to do with Mettaton's magic."

Alphys shook her head, expression concerned. "I-I've never heard of anything like that happening before... But I-I might have the slightest guess...?"

Mistral perked up. "What is it?"

Alphys looked startled and Mistral felt slightly guilty for being a little too intense. "I-I'm not sure, I'll need to run some tests... c-can I check something?" The little dinosaur gestured for Mistral to sit on a stool that was next to a counter. The counter had all sorts of test tubes and equipment on it.

Mistral glanced at her father, who smiled and nodded encouragingly. Mistral hesitantly stepped forward and sat at the stool, placing her arm on the counter.

Alphys picked up a syringe. "I-I'm going to take a blood sample, o-okay?" Mistral nodded and closed her eyes, ready for the pinch.

And before she knew it, it was over.

"Alright, this will let me f-figure out a few th-things... like possibly your SOUL trait, things like that... which could help me figure out what happened between you and Mettaton.

I c-can get back to you in a day or two."

Mistral exchanged a look with Ray and nodded, nervous and apprehensive about the results.

Today had been the weirdest day of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told y'all the characterization got better. Honestly Mistral has a very original character personality... She's better than when I first came up with her but.  
She gets cooler after Wired ends tbh.
> 
> Anyways I hope y'all are enjoying, hope I get some comments and kudos it would really make my day!


	5. It's A Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton makes a very bad decision.

**Mettaton**

After a hectic morning of charger-hunting (honestly, why couldn't Alphys have given him infinte battery life?), Mettaton was finally ready to get his own show. As soon as he went to the TV network. To get his own show. Which he was putting off doing due to worry that he'd be refused. **Oh, what is wrong with me? I sound like Alphys! **At that thought he jumped right up. He was the confident one, and he was going to maintain that. 

Mettaton realized he was going to have to walk there. Oh well... It's good for the legs.

*** * ***

Mettaton walked into the building and looked around. It was fairly simple, with black lounge chairs off to one side and a huge TV on that one wall- okay, not so simple. He looked at the other side of the room and was greeted by a quite honestly adorkable redhead receptionist smiling from a desk.

"Hi! How may I help you?"

Mettaton was compelled to flash his biggest grin back at her. He moved closer to the desk that separated the two of them and put an elbow down on it. "Well, darling, I would like to talk to whoever is the boss around here."

He leaned closer to her, across the desk, winking. Redheads weren't really his type, but, uh, 'Rose', as he read on her nametag, could get him good places.

Rose's smile never faltered. "If you go down the corridor on your left, it's the fourth door on the right. I'll give you his card as well." She pulled something out of her desk and handed it to Mettaton, who'd leaned back again rather taken aback. That was supposed to work on everyone... she wasn't even blushing! Whatever. He had what he needed.

"Thank you, darling." He turned to his left.

"Y'know, there were probably humans who already knew everything there is to know about what it was your parents were researching. It's a shame they died for it."

Mettaton froze in place. His parents... what? He stared at Rose. They'd been scientists, killed in an accident when he was six, but the ginger had no way to know that...

She kicked her feet up on the desk and winked at him.

Mettaton shook his head and turned away, walking into the corridor. He focused his mind completely on what he was about to do.

It didn't take long to get to the room he was looking for. 

He took a deep breath, knocked on the door of the head of the network, and waited tentatively.

"Come in!" Came the reply from inside. He opened the door and stepped inside. "Ah, yes. The receptionist told me of your approach," said the man sitting behind the desk, smiling. Instantly Mettaton could tell that the smile was forced and he was slightly discouraged. A few people weren't too happy about the monsters being there, and Mettaton had more than once found himself subject to their cruel stares. Then again, maybe the man was like this with everyone.

"Hello, Mr-" he hesitated, not knowing what to call the man.

"Mr. Workman, but you can call me Howard," responded the man, flipping through papers on his desk.

"Thank you, darling," Mettaton said, smiling. Howard glanced up at him for a moment, an eyebrow raised in a way that indicated he was unimpressed. Mettaton tried not to falter.

"Anyway, my name is Mettaton Blook, and I have come to ask you if I may have a television show of my own?" Mettaton asked. "You see, I had one back in the underground, and all the monsters liked me. I was the best form of entertainment for them!" He closed his eyes and hoped for a positive response.

"It's too soon," said Howard bluntly. Mettaton flinched a little. "You have to understand, you're... a monster. No one would watch you!"

"I... understand, sir," Mettaton understood, alright. Howard Workman was a racist... not-darling.

He turned away, dejected.

* * *

Falling asleep that night was hard. Everything Mettaton had worked for... everything he'd dreamed of... Howard Workman had crushed it all. Crushed him. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now... Ah, well, he could think about it tomorrow.

_Mettaton finds himself surrounded by the_ _ inky blackness of the universe._ _ The only thing breaking the darkness are the pinpricks of light that are the stars._

_"AND YOU, THE BRIGHTEST OF THEM ALL!"_

_Yeah, Mettaton likes_ _ that! Except it'll probably never happen now..._

_"AW, DON'T THINK LIKE THAT, KID! HAHA!"_

_Mettaton sighs. It's impossible to NOT think like that- wait. Who's saying these things?_

_"I AM, KID!" There is a flash of light and a yellow triangle appears floating in the air in front of Mettaton. Mettaton stares, speechless. The triangle_ _ has one eye, a top hat, and a bow tie. He holds a cane in his hand. This doesn't feel like a normal dream..._

_"WELL, A PERCEPTIVE ONE, ARENTCHA?" The triangle laughs. Everything he says is shrill and has a tone of... glee? To it. His bright yellow cat-like eye emulates the same feeling. Like he's laughing at everything. And there's something behind it giving Mettaton an uneasy feeling, but he can't quite place his finger on it... "YOU SHOULD WIN AN AWARD!" The triangle snaps his fingers and Mettaton is presented with a trophy made out of bones. Mettaton is instantly reminded of the skeleton brothers Sans and Papyrus. He shudders and the triangle laughs harder. The trophy disappears._

_"Wh-Who are you...?" Mettaton has no idea what to think of this guy. He almost seems mentally unhinged, but maybe he's just excited and has a weird sense of humor._

_"THE NAME'S BILL CIPHER! I'M A DREAM DEMON!" Bill, as he calls himself holds out a hand with fingers rather like claws for Mettaton to shake. "NICE TO MEETCHA, KID!"_

_"A... dream demon..." Mettaton's eyes widens and he doesn't accept Bill's hand. Bill pulls his hand back with a flicker of disappointment, but Mettaton disregards this. He's too worried about one thing: Aren't demons bad?_

_"SOME ARE! NOT ALL!" Mettaton's mouth opens, but before he can say anything, Bill interrupts. "YEAH, I READ YOUR MIND, KID! I CAN DO THAT!"_

_"Alright, don't call me kid." Mettaton crosses his arms and glares at the demon, who appears to find this amusing. Mettaton is infuriated. He isn't a kid, and he doesn't like being patronized._

_"I'M OLDER THAN THE UNIVERSE **ITSELF**, KID!" Bill's triangular body flashes with strange symbols and images Mettaton recognizes from his old history classes. "BESIDES... AREN'T YOU ONLY 18?"_

_"I'm a legal adult..." muttered Mettaton. He's plenty mature, too._

_"OF COURSE YA ARE! BUT IN COMPARISON TO ME..." Bill has a point... three of them. "SO, ANYWAY KID, I SAW YOU GOT TURNED DOWN BY THAT TV GUY!"_

_Mettaton's cheeks turn_ _ slightly pink. "Oh... you saw that...?" He feels himself becoming embarrassed and ashamed. That anyone could've seen that... it's humiliating._

_"NAH, NO NEED TO BE EMBARRASSED, KID!" Bill really looks like he's smiling now. "IN FACT, I WAS THINKING I COULD HELP YOU OUT, AS LONG AS YOU DID THE SAME FOR ME!"_

_Mettaton blinks. "What... do you mean...?" He's a little wary, 'cause, you know, demon, but Bill does seem nice..._

_"I MEAN I CAN GET YOU YOUR OWN TV SHOW!" Bill floats slightly closer to Mettaton. "I CAN MAKE ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IN RETURN..."_

_Mettaton cuts across him. "Sign me in," he tells Bill. He is very excited, I mean, he's lucky enough to have an all-powerful demon offer to help him achieve his dreams!_

_Bill appears to smile wider. He holds out his hand to Mettaton again and it lights up with a blue fire. "AND YOU'LL HELP ME IN RETURN?"_

_"Yeah, whatever, anything...!" Mettaton accepts the handshake tentatively, the blue fire only tickling his hand. Well, he is heatproof... to a certain extent._

_"IT'S A D E A L THEN!" And Bill Cipher disappears._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this is where it starts to get more interesting! We finally got best girl in the story, oh yeah and Mettaton Blook is an idiot tm.
> 
> Everyone probably has questions after this chapter but trust me all will be revealed


	6. Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton and Mistral have more in common than they'd like. 
> 
> It's gonna save Metta's life someday.

**Mistral**

Mistral glanced at the tall pink robot next to her. The two were back in Alphys' lab room. They were about to find out why that weird flash had happened...

Let's back up a bit.

When Mistral had gotten home from school that day, her father had been waiting to take her back to the lab.

"Ah, Mistral, there you are!" Her father smiled down at her. "Alphys said to bring you to the lab as soon as possible. C'mon!"

Mistral dropped her bags on the living room floor and ran after her father out to the car. She'd been waiting allll day to find out if there were results! Then she could stop walking around feeling all uneasy.

"Nervous?"

Mistral looked over at her father from where she was looking out the window, in the passenger seat.

"...Yeah," she smiled. "But I'm excited, too. I can stop thinking about it, finally!"

Her father chuckled. "Well, that's good, 'cause we're here." His car pulled to a stop and the two got out.

As soon as Mistral set foot in the building, there was a flash of yellow, a tapping of claws and Alphys was upon her. "Y-You're here!" The short lizard monster pulled on Mistral's arm, leading her in the direction of the room Mistral had met her in last year. "You're g-going to want to see this..."

Mistral cocked her head as they entered the room. There was a lot of scientific equipment in it now, the largest being two matching pods that looked big enough to hold a person.

There was also a seven foot tall glitterbot tapping his pink-clad toe impatiently in the center of the room.

"Can we hurry this up?" His comment was directed at Alphys. "I have places to be today."

"O-Of course, M-Mettaton... this shouldn't take T-TOO long..."

"It had better not, darling."

Alphys looked from Mistral to Mettaton. "A-Alright, so, I figured out some things about Mistral's SOUL... and it's p-pretty interesting. L-Look at this."

She opened a laptop and pointed to a picture with a bunch of data. Mistral and Mettaton gathered around her. There was a heart, pink in the center and yellow outside. Mistral's favourite colours.

"Alphys, darling... is her SOUL two different colours?"

"That isn't usual for humans, is it...?" Mistral's dad was looking over her shoulder.

Alphys shook her head. "P-Plus, the pink part of Mistral's SOUL matches the properties of M-Mettaton's exactly..."

Mistral glanced at Mettaton. From what she could tell, he had no idea what Alphys was insinuating either.

"M-Mettaton, how did your parents die again?"

Mistral had had no idea the robot was an orphan. Well, she hadn't known he'd had parents, but... she felt a moment of compassion for Mettaton. It must've been tough, to have had people close to him die...

Mettaton looked shocked. "A-Alph, why do you bring that up right now?"

"Just answer the question!" The dinosaur-like monster looked like she was bursting to tell them something.

"W-Well, it was an accident with one of their experiments when I turned six..."

"A-And you were in the accident, r-right?"

Mettaton nodded. "But that was twelve years ago..."

"O-On your birthday... August eighth. The same day Mistral was born."

Mistral exchanged a look with Mettaton.

Mistral's father gasped. "Are you implying a bit of Mettaton's SOUL escaped to Mistral as she was born?"

"E-Exactly."

Mettaton whirled around to stare at Mistral straight on, who wordlessly opened and closed her mouth, staring back at the older robot.

"I-If I may...? I'd like to open up the barrier between your SOULs. It won't h-hurt or anything... but it should provide very interesting results."

Mistral realized that the pods must have been there for that purpose and moved towards the closest one, glancing back at Alphys, who nodded.

Mistral climbed into the pod. She didn't see Mettaton do it, but she assumed he climbed into the other because when she turned around she couldn't see him.

The pod lids closed and after a minute, there was a slight humming and a red scan, there was suddenly

**Did it even work?**

_It must have done something..._

**Maybe- wait. Mistral?**

_Yeah. Mettaton?_

**Who else, darling?**

_W-Wow... this is so weird..._

Mistral could suddenly feel Mettaton's presence. His emotions were suddenly open to her. A moment ago he'd felt mild interest, and apprehension, but now he was curious, his mind whirling with thoughts too fast for Mistral to understand. The first thing Mistral noticed about his mind was that it felt very... organized. That made sense, what with the robot's mannerisms and general attitude. There was also a chaos somewhere, that felt different, but she couldn't place it...

The pods opened and Mistral climbed out, feeling Mettaton do the same. "D-Did it do anything?" Alphys wrung her hands, looking at them nervously. Mistral nodded.

"It's like... our minds are connected now."

Mettaton nodded in agreement.

"W-Wow..."

"My very own daughter is a miracle of science! I can't believe this!" Mistral's father's expression was very animated, ablaze with the possibilities.

** _LIGHTNING BOLT, POSSIBILITIES AWAIT YA IN THE FOYER!_ **

Mettaton froze. Mistral shot a sharp glance at him. The thought had come from another source, the same chaotic feel she could sense in Mettaton's head.

"While this is all very interesting... I need to get to the foyer. Now." Everyone looked at Mettaton.

Mistral understood that Mettaton could get his own TV channel if he went to the foyer now. "Well, then, go! What are you waiting for?"

Mettaton smiled and ran out of the room. Mistral followed. The two skidded to a halt in the foyer, greeted with the sight of a short adorkable girl with red hair just placing herself into one of those spinny wheely chairs.

Mistral felt a memory insert itself into her brain. Mettaton had apparently met the girl yesterday... she seemed weird. Her name was 'Rose'.

Rose looked over at Mettaton. "Mister Blook, was it?" She smiled. "In an unexpected turn of events, you've got a job offer."

Mistral could feel the wave of disbelief and joy from Mettaton.

**He really came through...**

_Who did? _All that Mistral could glean from Mettaton's mind was that yesterday he'd been rejected, but Mettaton had met someone that had done something to help.

Mettaton glanced at her. **Tell you later...**

Rose wheely-chaired over to a lab table and kicked her feet up on it. This happened to be the moment that Mistral's father and Alphys entered the area.

"Please don't put your feet up on that," said her father. He hated when people's feet got onto his stuff.

"Sure thing, nerd." Rose paused. "...sorry, that was mean." She removed her feet from the table and started to wheely-chair around the room. It looked fun.

Mistral thought that while her father WAS a nerd, Rose looked rather nerdy herself. So it didn't make much sense for Rose to call her father a nerd.

"Who are you and why are you in my lab." Her father sounded tired.

"Just here to drop the facts on this lil robo-celeb."

"Lil?"

"...big. Big, big robo-celeb."

"That's better, sweetheart." Mettaton's tone emulated the satisfaction he felt.

"W-Wait, what did she t-tell you...?" Alphys looked at her friend.

"Well, you see, Alph, I'm going to be on TV."

"A-Already...? Wow..."

Mettaton smiled. Mistral could tell he was trying really hard to be modest. It did not come naturally to him.

Rose was still wheely-chairing around the lab.

"Please don't wheely-chair around my lab..." Mistral thought her father was probably worried about something breaking.

Alphys looked at Mistral's father. "D-Dr. Pines, I don't think you'll ever g-get through to her..."

"Try to stop me," said Rose. "You'll never catch u-hUP!" At that moment Rose hit a bump in the floor and faceplanted off the chair.

Mistral gasped and ran to help her up. "Hi, Rose. I'm Mistral. Are you okay?"

Rose stood up. "Never been better!" She resumed wheely-chairing around the room dangerously fast.

"Rose, don't you have work to get back to?" Mettaton looked pointedly at the ginger, and then paused, considering. "Do I have work to get back to?"

"I'm now personally assigned as your secretary/assistant/basically slave tbh, so as long as you don't, I don't."

She was at that point fixing her glasses, which had apparently gotten bent in Rose's fall.

Mistral looked at Mettaton, who was engrossed in trying to think of something he could tell Rose to do, and cut into his thoughts.

"Can I tell her to do things?" He looked at her quzzically. Mistral shrugged sheepishly. "I've always wanted one of these..."

Someone to do stuff for Mistral sounded like the most awesome thing ever.

"Mistral, darling, I somehow doubt she'll take orders from a twelve year old girl."

"Maybe she will if you tell her to!"

Mettaton resolved to listen to her. Mistral laughed excitedly. This would be so cool! I mean, she couldn't actually think of anything she wanted Rose to do, but still!

"Uh, Rose-darling, Mistral can now tell you to do things."

Rose shook her head. It was impossible to tell whether she was refusing or just dizzy, she was now just plain spinning in one spot. Still in the chair.

"That's outside of my pay grade." Oh, so she hadn't been dizzy... Well. She still could be dizzy. Who knew? "Convince the higher-ups to gimme a raise and I'll consider it. She can always just like, speak vicariously through you- wait shoot I shouldn't have given you that idea."

Mistral grinned. She could do that! Without even opening her mouth!

Mettaton looked a little off-put by something Rose had said. Mistral glanced through the memory of Rose and saw why. She'd said something about something she shouldn't have known about... Mistral could tell it had rattled the robot more than he wanted to admit.

"Rose, how did you know she can- speak through me?"

"Oh, that was not a literal thing." The redhead said it offhandedly midspin. "I just meant she tells you to tell me to do things for her. I had no clue that was... An actual thing."

Mistral patted Mettaton's arm. She knew that that overly stupid moment from him was the only outward sign of just how badly Rose had affected him.

"Well, it's not my fault," Mettaton said to attempt to not appear an idiot. "She said something yesterday, that was like... She read my mind."

Mistral's father and Alphys shot Mettaton confused looks.

"Who's to say I can't?"

"Can you?" Mistral cocked her head.

"Dunno. Haven't really tried."

Rose stopped spinning and focused really hard on Mettaton as though she were attempting to do just that. Read his mind. "Hnnnnng..."

Then she started spinning again, presumably having found out that she could not read minds.

Mistral knew, at that moment, she was going to like Rose.

* * *

Mistral flopped onto her bed, sighing contentedly. Most of the rest of the day, she'd spent exploring Mettaton's mind, curious about him. She'd found good things and bad things... He was egotistical, vain, and ambitious to a fault... But he also had a naturally kind and protective nature. He would help anyone who needed help.

She really, really liked him.

And Rose. Rose was amazing. And she was Mettaton's personal assistant now! Mistral was going to see a lot of her!

She shut her eyes, ready to fall asleep.

Unfortunately, a voice in her head disagreed with that sentiment.

_ **HELLO, LITTLE LIGHTNING STAR...** _

_Lightning Star...? Hey, aren't you the voice that called Mettaton 'Lightning _ _Bolt'_ _ earlier?_

** _YUP! MY NAME'S BILL CIPHER, NICE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE. I CALLED YA LIGHTNING STAR BECAUSE... WELL... YOU'RE LIKE LIGHTNING BOLT BUT NOT._ **

Mistral's cousins had mentioned a Bill Cipher! _Aren't you an evil demon? Aren't you supposed to be dead? SHOULD I BE WORRIED?_

** _RELAX, KID! THAT WAS _ ** ** _WILLLLL_ ** ** _ CIPHER, MY BROTHER!_ **

_Oh, okay... _Mistral remembered now, the evil demon had been called Will, not Bill... _So you're a good demon?_

** _WOULD LIGHTNING BOLT HAVE MADE A DEAL WITH ME IF I WEREN'T?_ **

Mistral supposed she should trust Mettaton's judgement, he was a grown adult after all.

_Why are you talking to me?_

** _MY CONNECTION TO LIGHTNING BOLT ENCOMPASSES YOU AS WELL, YOU HAVING A BIT OF HIS SOUL AND ALL! SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO HAVE A LITTLE PEEK AT YOUR MIND!_ **

_Oh... What's your __'deal'__ with Mettaton? _Mistral was curious what interest a demon would have in her new robotic friend.

_ **LET'S JUST SAY ** _ _ **I'M** _ _ ** HELPING HIM WITH A LITTLE SOMETHING IN EXCHANGE FOR A FAVOUR. YA DON'T NEED TO KNOW THE DETAILS. DON'T WANT TO TARNISH YOUR IMAGE OF HIM!** _

_What?_

** _WELL... JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME, IT AIN'T AN ACCIDENT THE KID'S GOT HIS OWN SHOW NOW! HIS DREAM..._ **

_Wait... Mettaton asked you to do that? But that's dishonest!_

** _IT'S THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS, LITTLE LIGHTNING STAR!_ **

Mistral's philosophy was to never lie. Ever. She'd have to ask Mettaton about this tomorrow...

The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was echoey laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh some parts of this feel so rushed but I can go back and edit once I'm done everything else!
> 
> I really love Rose, my really close friend writes her and she just does an amazing job! It was kinda funny, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with her character so I asked my friend to do it and she came up with so much amazing stuff haha.


	7. Glittertits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton learns something about the deal. Also, his show is a success hooray!

**Mettaton**

"Rise and shine, glittertits!"

Mettaton opened his (actually both visible!) eyes to look at the redhead.

"Call me glittertits one more time..."

"Glittertits?"

Mettaton sat up and stared at her. "...Rose-darling. As your superior... Do. Not."

"Pretty much everyone is my superior, and I have express permission to do exactly that." She smiled smugly at him.

"Whatever... Why are you here?" Mettaton mentally checked the time. "It is currently... 5:04:20."

"Do you, uh, not remember me landing you a job? It's kind of an important detail."

"I don't have to get up THIS early for THAT!"

"You're already up."

"And whose fault is that." Mettaton muttered it under his breath as he unplugged from the outlet and sprung to his robotic feet, right into his bright pink high-heeled boots.

_**WELL! YOU'RE UP EARLY, **__**AREN'TCHA**__**?**_ Bill's echoey voice, only audible to Mettaton, carried a tone of deep amusement.

Mettaton simply groaned and looked at Rose again.

"Yo, glittertits, what's up with your eye?" 

Mettaton tilted his head in confusion, a little self-conscious. "What do you mean?" He shifted. "There shouldn't be anything wrong with it..." 

"It looks all lizardy and weird." 

Mettaton turned towards a mirror he'd propped up against a wall and took a step towards it. Sure enough, his right eye, the one that was usually covered by his flowy black hair, was pale yellow as opposed to the usual pink, and the pupil thin and reptilian. 

In fact, it looked almost exactly like... Bill's...

** _AH YES, THAT'S A LITTLE SIDE EFFECT OF OUR DEAL. A REMINDER, IF YOU WILL._ **

**I can't go around looking like this!**

_ **OF COURSE YA CAN! YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO, IT'LL ONLY VANISH ONCE YOU COMPLETE Y O U R END. JUST HIDE IT UNDER YOUR HAIR LIKE YA ALWAYS DO!** _

**Then just tell me what I have to do!**

_ **NOT YET! I HAVE TO MAKE A FEW PREPARATIONS BEFORE YOUR PART COMES IN! DON'T WORRY, LITTLE BOLT... YOU WON'T BE WORRYING ABOUT IT FOR MUCH LONGER.** _

Mettaton sighed and moved his hair back to it's usual position. Covering his eye. He turned to Rose. "Don't tell anyone about that."

"Kay."

"Oh, and..." He narrowed his eye. "My parents died doing something really important for the future of monster science. I don't know how you found out, but you should really check your facts."

He stalked out of the room and leaned against the wall right outside, breathing out deeply.

Not a single day went by where Mettaton didn't think of the parents he'd never had much of a chance to know. All he had of them was a picture of them with him and an Echo Flower, preserved so it kept his parent's voices forever...

And of course, he was partially made out of nectar from an Echo Flower. As Altio and Ariablook, Royal Scientists, had discovered, Echo Flower nectar granted the drinker the ability to mimic any sound they'd heard before perfectly, and also caused them to become lightweight, or even float. 

Mettaton had some mixed into his casing as a way of preventing the metal from weighing him down, causing him to be unnaturally fast and agile. It was the best way he could think to honour his parents' memory.

He squeezed his eye shut, refusing to let himself think about that terrible day, that awful day when he was six...

** _WELL, QUITE THE SAD STORY YOU HAVE, HUH?_ **

**There's no use dwelling on the past, Bill.**

** _BUT _ ** ** _DON'TCHA_ ** ** _ ASK YOURSELF AT LEAST ONCE A DAY IF YOUR PARENTS WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU?_ **

**I... Yes. But I've moved on. I was six, y'know.**

**_HA_**.

Rose walked past him. "'Kay," she said in response to his earlier statement. She said 'Kay' too much in Mettaton's opinion.

Mettaton followed her, hyped to introduce himself to humanity. Plus, he was glad of the distraction. Thinking about his parents made him sad, and Mettaton did not like to be sad.

When they arrived at the TV studio, Mettaton spent several minutes trying to 'help' Rose and the tech crew get all the systems up and running. At least, until Rose got fed up with him and told him to sit in a chair in a corner, a good distance away from all the goings-on.

_**SOOOO**__**, LIGHTNING BOLT! **_Bill's voice quite literally cut into Mettaton's thoughts. **_I HAVE A LIL... SUGGESTION FOR YOU._**

**Shoot.**

_ **WELL... I WAS THINKING, TO MAKE YOUR NEW SHOW JUST THAT MUCH BETTER, YOU COULD USE SOME SORTA CALMING VOICE FILTER! PEOPLE WOULD LOVE IT, THEY'D WATCH YOU TO FALL ASLEEP!** _

**I could, but I'm not really sure if ** **I-** ** Oh. I DO have a filter like that. Didn't even know that was in my systems.**

_ **IT'S AMAZING WHAT PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THEMSELVES, AIN'T IT!** _

It was a few hours before Mettaton was tapped on the shoulder by his new redheaded assistant.

"Yo, douche," she said as Mettaton stood up and looked at her. "Want me to run a diagnostic on your systems?"

"...No thank you, darling." He smiled. "You know I can do it myself, right?"

Rose shrugged. "Well, in that case, it's time to start, so get your bedazzled ass over there."

"Alright, alright..." Mettaton front-flipped his way to right in front of the camera.

_ **FILTER, LIGHTNING BOLT!** _

**Right.** Mettaton activated his 'Calming' voice filter.

"Five," Rose began to count them down. "Four. Three. Two. One."

"Helloooo beauties annnnd gentlebeauties, humans annnd monsters!" He winked. "For those of you that don't know me, my name is Mmmmettaton and it is so very wonderful to be on the surface at last!"

There was a generated sound of applause. Mettaton patiently waited for it to finish.

"Now, my darling viewers, you may be wondering- what KIND of show is this? Should I watch it?

"The answer is, yes! No matter what your interests are, I have something for all! Game shows, cooking shows, especially-the-dog shows! All here on MTT TV!"

"Now, for our first episode, I thought we'd start off with a little get-to-know-me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dynamics between Metta/Rose and Metta/Bill are so fun to write! Of course Metta/Bill is even more fun to write the further into the story they get buuut...


	8. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistral relies on Mettaton to know what he's doing.

**Mistral**

"Now, for our first episode, I thought we'd start off with a little get-to-know-me."

Well, this was sure to be interesting!

Mistral was sitting in her father's lab, enjoying watching the first episode of MTT TV, Mettaton really thrived in the spotlight. Plus, his voice was somehow calming...

Of course, he was also a total prick, but he was overall likable? For some reason?

** _YEAH, IT'S ANNOYING, AIN'T IT?_ **

_...Demon guy again? Bill, right?_

** _THAT'S ME!_ **

_Right. Why are you talking to me again? I'm a very uninteresting twelve year_ _ old._

_ **AW, THERE ARE THINGS ABOUT YOU THAT ARE INTERESTING!** _

_Uh huh._

_ **LISTEN, I JUST HAVE SOMETHING TO ASK OF YA!** _

_Which is...?_

_ **YOUR GREAT UNCLE, ** _ _ **SIXE** _ _ **-** _ _ _ _ **STANFORD** _ _ **. WHERE HAS HE BEEN WORKING?** _

_Well, usually just in the main lab, but my dad gave him a little desk in that room over there..._

_ **IS HE IN THERE?** _

_Uh, no._

_ **GO THERE.** _

Mistral cocked her head. She got up and walked towards the room. She hesitated for only a second before opening the door. Mettaton trusted Bill, so so should she.

She looked around the room. There wasn't much, it was only temporarily belonging to her great uncle.

** _THE BOOK._ **

Mistral picked up the book on the desk next to the laptop. _This one? _She flipped through it. It was full of equations and notes.

** _YES! FIND SOMETHING LABELED WITH SOMETHING LIKE_ ** _ **... GRAVITY FALLS WEIRDNESS BARRIER?** _

Mistral flipped through it.

'_Anti-demon__Spell'_

_'Pythagoras' Theorem - Cipher _ _Edition'_

_'GF Weirdness _ _Equation'_

_'Body Mass of _ _Glitterbot_ _Calculations'_

Why did Great Uncle Stanford NEED all this stuff? These were so weird... Wait, had that been it? She flipped back a few pages.

_'GF Weirdness__Equation'__. _It appeared to be a strange combination of math, science words, and Latin.

_ **SEND THAT TO LIGHTNING BOLT MENTALLY. THEN I'LL LEAVE YA ALONE.** _

Mistral did, uncertainly, not questioning it. She then, carefully putting the book back, returned to watching Mettaton's new show.

She could almost swear there was some echoey laughter in her ear, but she was sure it was nothing to worry about. She didn't need to worry about anything. Mettaton's voice was just that calming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad idea, Mistral...
> 
> I like thinking up the kinda things Ford could have in his notebook. It's pretty fun! Gravity Falls has amazing humour.


	9. Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton reaches the point of no return.

**Mettaton**

Mettaton yawned. It was like, 1am and he was working hard on the next day's show. His plan for tomorrow was to do some sorta cooking show, showing off how he made Glamburgers, but he had to do it in a way that was exciting, quirky, and in a way that made the viewers feel as though they were right there with him, even though most of them might never meet him.

There's always Meet 'n Greets, though!

That was what he was doing when he received an Direct Message on his official, newly made, Instagram account. (@fantabulousmettaton, you should follow him!)

Mettaton looked at the message and smiled. A fan that wanted to collab? This could be so cool! And it had only been a few weeks!

He sent a reply to the fan.

Mettaton sat back and waited. This guy had better be for real.

He found it hard to contain the sparking excitement rushing through his circuitry. This could be the start of a bright new friendship, a companionship that would last for all time!

Or maybe not, that sounded kinda stupid.

Ding! He picked up his phone again to read the message.

Mettaton tapped his way over to Ralph's profile and went onto the recent post. He was greeted with the sight of a human boy, about his age, sitting on his bed with a guitar. He tilted his head as Ralph started to speak.

_Hey! It's Ralph here. I know I haven't posted in a while, but it's because I was working on this song! It's dedicated to Jack, my brother, who many of my followers already know? Soooo, yeah. I call it The World Anew! Now let's just get into it._

Ralph started to strum his guitar. Mettaton really admired how into it he looked, like nothing mattered in that moment but the music. And when the singing started, it sent shivers down the robot's spine

_Do you remember? _

_Before September_

_When we found that special place_

_And I looked at you_

_Don't know if you knew_

_But your smile lit up your face_

_I hugged you tightly_

_The sun shone brightly_

_And it lasted oh so long_

_And that's when I knew_

_As long as I have you_

_Nothing could ever turn out wrong_

_Sunshine, sunrise_

_Let's watch the skies_

_Just you and me_

_We could feel so free..._

_You are all I need_

_You can take the lead_

_As we go explore_

_The whole world and more_

_And I promise this_

_I will never leave you_

_So let's every day_

_Just you and me_

_Let's make the world anew!_

There was true emotion in Ralph's voice. He really loved this Jack of his.

_I've meant to tell you_

_Something from my view_

_It's something that I feel_

_You're like no other_

_My little brother_

_I can't believe you're even real_

Ralph paused, focusing on simply playing the guitar for a few seconds.

_Let's go outside_

_Where we can hide_

_Away from_

_The whole world and more_

_You are all I need_

_Friendship guaranteed_

_You're my family_

_With you I feel so free_

_And I promise this_

_I will never leave you!_

_So let's every day_

_Just you and me_

_Let's make the world anew!_

The bridge hit, and Mettaton shivered with delight.

_There's a place I know_

_Where we can go_

_Take it slow_

_With you, my bro!_

_Come with me_

_Out of society_

_Hope you see_

_How much you mean to me!_

_Sunshine, sunrise_

_Let's watch the skies_

_Just you and me_

_We could feel so free_

_Let's go outside_

_Where we can hide_

_Away from_

_The whole world and more_

_And I promise this _

_I will never leave you!_

_So let's every day_

_Just you and me_

_Let's make the world anew!_

_Let's make the world anew!_

_Let's make the world anew!_

Woah. This guy was AMAZING. Metta was TOTALLY going to collab with him! Ralph Alvarez was simply delightful. Metta switched back to DMs and was about to type an ecstatic message when-

**_OH,_** _**LIIIIIGHTNING**__** BOLT~!**_

Mettaton, startled, dropped his phone. Two weeks of silence, then he's back without warning?

** _YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO BE HERE A L L THE TIME! _ ** ** _I'M_ ** ** _ A VERY BUSY DEMON, Y'KNOW!_ **

**Busy doing what, exactly?**

_**DOES IT MATTER**__? _Bill didn't even give Mettaton a chance to respond to that. **_ANYWAY, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO FULFILL YOUR SIDE OF THE DEAL._**

Mettaton's eyes widened and he stood up, ready to do as Bill asked. **What do I have to do?**

_**WELLLL**__**...**_ The dream demon was silent for a moment, possibly contemplating. _**I'M**_ _**STUCK**_ _**HERE. IN**_ _**THIS**_ _**BORING,**_ _**BINDING**_ _**PLANE**_ _**OF**_ _**EXISTENCE.**_ _**I**_ _**NEED**_ _**YOU**_ _**TO**_ **_FREE_** _**ME.**_ _**THINK YOU**_ _**CAN**_ _**DO**_ _**THAT, **_**_LIGHTNING_** **_BOLT?_**

Free him? But... Mettaton couldn't do any strong magic like that... His natural monster magic was all boring defensive abilities. How was he supposed to...?

**_WELL, LIGHTNING_** **_BOLT..._** If Mettaton had been talking to Bill face to face, he would've been leaning forwards in apprehension and curiosity. **_ALL_** **_WILL_** **_BE_** **_REVEALED_** **_UPON_** **_ARRIVAL_** **_AT_** **_THE_** **_DESTINATION!_**

**Destination**? Confused, Mettaton tilted his head. Was he going to have to go somewhere?

**_OH_** **_YES,_** **_OREGON_****_,_** **_TO_** _**BE**_ **_PRECISE!_** Bill paused, seeming to find some amusement in this. **_GRAVITY_** _**FALLS,**_ **_OREGON_****_!_**

**Bill,** **it's** **1:24:****03!** **I** **can't** **just** **up** **and go to** **another** **s****tat****e****,** **now** **can I...?**

_**YES.**_ Bill's voice was harsher than Mettaton was used to, the robot winced. _**YOU**_ _**CAN**_ _**AND**_ _**YOU**_ _**WILL.**_

The demon's tone sent a chill up Mettaton's spine. Mettaton didn't get cold, he had an internal heating system. Something told him... he should do as Cipher asked. Yeah, good plan, Mettaton.

Mettaton stood up onto his pink heels and took a few steps across the small room, but he hesitated at the door. He couldn't just up and vanish, he had a show tomorrow! No, but... he had to leave, he couldn't break his deal with Bill. After all, it was thanks to the demon Mettaton had the show at all. However... He could at least let someone know where he'd be.

He grabbed a paper and pen, both pink, of course, and scribbled out a note in his swirly writing. As he finished his signature, he admired it proudly. It had taken a while to get used to writing in this form, and now his writing was gorgeous.

_ **GET A MOVE ON, WILL YA?** _

**Right.**

Mettaton turned around and went out the door, careful not to wake a SOUL, slipping through the dark lab. No one heard him leave, and no one would know for some time, until an adorkable ginger would grow impatient and kick open the door to his room the following morning.

But by that time, it would be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry for how big the pictures are. I don't know if there's a way to edit the size, but I can't do it on this device... I'll try to do it later on a different computer. Sorry! 
> 
> Other than that, Ralph is important for the Webseries based on this story, this is a very pivotal moment for that overall universe but not for Wired... Except for the part with Bill, of course. And the song is an actual song I've written, and we plan to record it at some point so we can have it with the chapter!
> 
> Metta's Instagram is a real account! Once I get more into things, I'll be putting up art to do with this story up there! So if you're at all interested, @fantabulousmettaton !


	10. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton is discovered missing.

**Mistral**

_Something is wrong._

Mistral couldn't explain the thought, but it felt true. Something was definitely wrong. But what was it? There was her room, there were her things, there was the sun newly risen into the sky... there was the hum of Mettaton's mind?

The robot felt far, distant. It felt as though something was blocking his thoughts from her. Could Mettaton be trying to hide something? But... what? And why would it have to be hidden from her, it's not like she would tell anyone!

Well, she supposed her friend had his reasons. They hadn't even been friends very long, how well did she REALLY know him?

She threw her bed covers aside and placed her feet on the carpeted floor. She sighed, moved across the room, and opened the door. It was Saturday, she could go and see him right away.

Mistral headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Her mother was on the phone, and she seemed anxious? About what? She sat at the table and waited patiently for Ellen to hang up.

It didn't take long. "Yes, I'll ask her... Bye, hon." Placing the phone down, Ellen turned to Mistral, who cocked her head curiously. "Mistral, your father tells me your friend Mettaton is missing."

"...Missing?" Wait... the block... Mettaton wasn't doing anything illegal, was he? Mistral's eyes widened in fear, shock, worry.

Ellen nodded, eyes full of sympathy and compassion for her daughter. "He wonders if you could use the link between you two to locate him," Mistral's mother continued. "The note he left sounded urgent, and we wonder if he's in some sort of trouble..."

Mistral shook her head. "I can't," she said, unable to keep the anxiety out of her voice. "Mettaton's blocking me out, I don't think he can even hear me..." She rubbed her arm subconsciously out of worry.

Ellen sighed. "Well, you should go down there. Maybe you'll still be able to help out."

Mistral nodded. "Yeah... I'll try."

Ellen placed a plate of pancakes before Mistral and the girl heartily dug in. Despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but enjoy the delectable pancakes. So GOOD, as always!

She finished quickly and stood up. "I'm going to go now, Mom."

Ellen nodded. "Bye, love," she hugged her daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Mistral hugged back, smiling, before pulling away.

She walked out the door, glancing around the street. It was still early, so not many people were out. Well, it WAS Saturday, after all. Most people thought Mistral was insane for getting up early on weekends, but her whole family were early risers.

She turned left, towards her father's lab, and walked up the street, staring at the ground. She briefly considered the fact that everyone was freaking out over nothing, that Mettaton was fine, that he would soon return.

Mistral could feel in her SOUL that that wasn't the case.

She glanced up upon arrival at the lab, it was a short walk. She entered the foyer and glanced around.

"I'm here," she said, glancing around. The lab was mostly empty, except for Rose at her father's desk, and Ray himself.

"Oh, good, Mistral..." Ray dashed over to his daughter. "Were you able to...?"

His unfinished question hung in the air for a moment. Mistral knew what he was asking, and felt terrible that he had to hear the answer. She shook her head, not wanting to speak.

She looked over at Rose and headed over to her. The ginger girl held a note, presumably Mettaton's.

"Hey, Rose...?" Mistral said it timidly. She was so cool, Mistral found herself shy around Rose.

"Sup." Rose glanced up at Mistral.

"Is that... The note?"

"Yuuuup."

"What does it say? Can I read it?" Mistral cocked her head.

Rose folded the paper into a paper airplane and threw it at Mistral, who managed to catch it before it hit her in the face. This was why Rose was awesome.

She looked down at Mettaton's pink swirly writing and reading the following:

_Hey _ _Darlings-_

_I have to go somewhere, there's something really important I have to do. Don't come after me, I'll be back soon enough anyway._

_-Mettaton_

"Oh, Mettaton..." Mistral bit her lip. Why wouldn't he SAY anything? There had been NO clues! "And we don't have any idea where he is?" She looked up, gaze switching between her father and Rose.

"Nope," said her dad.

"He's not powerful enough for me to sense from far away." Rose half-muttered to herself.

"For you to what?" Mistral stared at the ginger.

"...noooooothing."

Mistral exchanged looks with her father. "Okay then!"

Mistral sighed. "What are we going to do? What if he's hurt? What if he's doing something... bad?" Mistral could definitely say she was freaking out at that point.

"Prolly the latter," said Rose nonchalantly.

"But why would he?" Mistral's head snapped up. "He's not bad!

"It's complicated," came the soft reply.

"Rose, did he..." Ray hesitated. "Say something to you?"

"Not technically."

Mistral was blasted out of her confusion by a sudden loud noise outside. "...What was that?"

"Called it!" Rose smiled.

Mistral's father walked over to the door and stuck his head out. He very quickly pulled it back in. "You called that the sky would open and let a bunch of demonic anomalies through?"

"Does that fit the category of 'bad', Ray?" Rose looked at him seriously.

Mistral's eyes widened. "Rose, you're saying this was... Mettaton?" Mistral refused to believe it. "But how?"

"He's not equipped to cause something like this, it's impossible!"

"Eh, impossible isn't really a word with much meaning." Rose shrugged.

"Rose is right. This is very possible." Mistral's head swiveled to see the approach of Great Uncle Ford. "This is the work of Bill Cipher."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It begins.


	11. Used

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton can't believe what he's done.

**Mettaton**

Light flitted in through the trees while the sun came up high in the sky. Mettaton loved the sun... it was a kindred spirit. Bright and beautiful. He wished he had time to admire it, but he had to find Bill's clearing. So he could go home. And all of this could be over. He definitely did not want to spend too much time in the creepy Gravity Falls woods.

_**OVER THERE!**_ Bill's voice sounded genuinely excited, he must've really wanted whatever he was about to get Mettaton to do.

The robot stepped towards the clearing. It was empty except for a gray statue that looked just like... Bill?

**What's this about?**

_**LONG STORY, KID. WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR IT.**_ Bill said impatiently. _**NOW LISTEN CLOSELY... I NEED YOU TO DO EXACTLY AS I SAY. AND I MEAN EXACTLY. CAN YOU DO THAT, LIGHTNING BOLT?**_

Mettaton nodded hesitantly. He didn't like being told what to do, but...

_**GOOD**_. Bill sounded satisfied. **_THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO DRAW A CIRCLE ON THE GROUND. MAKE SURE THE STATUE IS IN THE MIDDLE._**

Mettaton felt around for a pen, before realizing a pen wouldn't really cut it in this situation. Instead he activated a laser beam in his finger tip, and aimed it at the ground. It made a mark, and, satisfied, Mettaton carefully and precisely drew a circle with the laser.

**_WONDERFULLY PRECISE, KID!_** Mettaton dipped his head in acknowledgement of the compliment. **_IT ALSO NEEDS SOME LINES RUNNING THROUGH IT. FOLLOW MY GUIDANCE..._**

Mettaton's vision placed down the lines in the correct places. He carefully made each one, slowly and steadily.

There was an impressed hum from Bill, and Mettaton smiled.

** _NOW THERE'S AN EQUATION... IT HAS TO PLACED IN THE CENTER. RIGHT NEXT TO ME._ **

An equation came into Mettaton's mind, he had no idea where it had come from. Apparently... Mistral had given it to him? Strange.

He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and a pink pen from his storage compartment and carefully copied down the equation. Upon finishing it with a satisfied swirl of ink, he walked to the center of his circle and placed it on the ground next to the statue.

**What next?**

** _SHAKE MY HAND AND REPEAT AFTER ME._ **

**Like I did when we made our deal?**

** _YES!_ **

Mettaton placed his hand into the outstretched arm of Bill Cipher's stony likeness.

** _EERF_ ** ** ** ** _YLLANIF_ ** ** ** ** _EB_ ** ** _ DNA, _ ** ** _NOMED_ ** ** _, _ ** ** _NEKAWA_ ** ** _, _ ** ** _DEKOTS_ ** ** _ ERA _ ** ** _SEMALF_ ** ** ** ** _EHT_ ** ** _, _ ** ** _DEKOVNI_ ** ** ** ** _LTOLOXA_ ** ** _._ **

Mettaton stumbled through the words, feeling a tingling in his SOUL. It got easier the more words he said, thankfully, and at the end was almost natural. He didn't understand what it meant, but then, he didn't need to.

When the last word was uttered, there was a loud sound and everything seemed to change. The sky opened up. It was like some sort of... rift, something to another dimension. Creatures began pouring out of it.

Mettaton tried to pull his hand away from the statue, but he found he... couldn't. His hand and Bill's had lit on similar fire to the time they'd made a deal. The statue was starting to turn yellow. The colour spread throughout the whole thing until eventually it was no longer a statue, but Bill Cipher, real in the world in front of him, eye wide and ecstatic.

"GOOD WORK, KID!" Bill Cipher's voice came into Mettaton's head as well as his ears. "YOU WERE THE PERFECT PAWN!"

"...Pawn...?" Mettaton gritted his teeth, pulling his hand out of Bill's grip. "You mean..."

"I USED YOU? OF COURSE!" Bill Cipher laughed, seeming to find great amusement in this. "I HAD TO ACHIEVE MY GOALS SOMEHOW, AND I WASN'T EXACTLY IN A POSITION TO DO IT MYSELF, NOW WAS I?"

"And what WERE your goals," Mettaton asked as he crossed his arms. He couldn't believe it. Nobody USED Mettaton Blook! "What have I been used to achieve."

"WELL, Y'SEE, THE PLACE I'M FROM AIN'T EXACTLY STABLE!" Bill floated around the clearing, enjoying his freedom. "IT'S NOT FUN TO BE A TWO-DIMENSIONAL BEING, KID. SO, I THOUGHT I'D MAKE THIS PLACE MY NEW REALITY!"

"That's crazy!"

"OF COURSE IT IS! YOUR POINT?"

Mettaton's jaw dropped.

He'd REALLY messed up this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Metta really didn't think this through, huh...
> 
> Because Bill now controls everything, he picks the chapter titles now! So in future, they will not be normal me style. It'll be pretty obvious.


	12. THE FUN BEGINS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone freaks out.

**Mistral**

She wasn't sure what was happening, it was all too much. Demons ravaging the streets, people getting hurt, Ray pressing himself close to her, him scanning the crowds for Mistral's mother, eyes wide and worried.

"This is gonna be a migraine and a half in about ten minutes." Mistral heard Rose mutter. The ginger was staring up at the sky. Mistral followed her gaze and gasped. There was a giant pyramid in the sky. It was reminiscent of a castle or a fortress. This wasn't good...

"How did he come back?" Ford sounded as though he didn't know whether to be angry or upset. There was so much emotion in his eyes, Mistral tilted her head. What was happening?

"Who's back?" She looked up at Ford, who's hands curled into fists. 

"...where are Dipper and Mabel?"

Mistral shrugged. She didn't know. She didn't know anything, she just WISHED she knew what was happening!!!

And that was when the laughter filled her ears. The echoey, maniacal, FAMILIAR laughter. And she could tell from their expressions that everyone else was hearing it too. She shifted her gaze back up to the sky. 

Floating there was a yellow one-eyed pyramid. He wore a top hat and a bow tie, and held a cane. It was impossible to tell exactly where he was. He seemed to be everywhere at once. 

"ARE YOU IMPRESSED, SIXER?" The demon's voice was delighted, ecstatic. "I DID IT **RIGHT **THIS TIME!"

"You won't get away with this, Cipher!" Ford yelled. It seemed the demon heard him, his cat-like eye appeared to flicker in their direction. He didn't acknowledge them in any other way.

Mistral's eyes widened. Cipher... Bill Cipher. Oh, no... she was such an IDIOT! She felt her eyes welling up with tears. She was in shock. Ray squeezed her shoulders tightly.

"NOTHING CAN STOP ME FROM DOING **ANYTHING **I WANT TO THIS WORLD!" Bill twirled his cane between his fingers gleefully. "NO ZODIAC THIS TIME AROUND!" He laughed again before continuing. "YOU MORTALS ARE SO EASY! I SIMPLY HAD TO APPEAL TO AMBITION, AND..."

He snapped his fingers, and a loud, bright crack rang throughout the sky. There were shocked screams all around. Mistral flinched back into her father.

She gasped, the true gravity of this clicking with her. "Mettaton! This was him! Oh, god..." She bit her lip, worrying about him. Was he okay? She still couldn't get through to him.

"How do you know?" Her father rubbed her shoulders in a calming sort of way.

"Bill... I talked to him." She looked up at him behind her. "He said he needed Mettaton for something... I HELPED him!"

"...it isn't your fault, he can be very persuasive." Ford said it gently. Mistral still felt terrible.

"THIS WORLD IS MINE NOW!" Bill was speaking now. His voice was starting to hurt Mistral. "BILL CIPHER'S! THIS'LL BE A **FUN **RIDE, WELCOME, ALL, TO WEIRDMAGEDDON!" He floated back into his giant pyramid, followed by a crew of excited demons.

"This is bad..." Mistral could hear the repressed panic in her great-uncles voice. "I have to find everyone, I have to take him down, I have to kill him..." The older man started pacing frantically.

"ELLEN!!!" Ray spotted Mistral's mother and ran towards her, the joy seeping into his whole person. Mistral felt super relieved, her mother was okay!"

"Ray..." whispered Ellen. The two embraced joyously. Mistral waved to her mother before glancing at Rose.

Rose was clenched up in different parts of her body, shaking. Mistral gasped. She looked like she was in so much pain, but from what?

"Rose! Are you okay?" 

Rose shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"What is it? O-Other than the obvious..." Everyone was suffering, of course. Just not as... much... as Rose.

"Overwhelming." Rose tapped her forehead. Even her voice was so pained, it sounded like she was forcing every word out.

"What?" Mistral tilted her head. "I mean, yeah, we're all overwhelmed, but you seem to be implying a really bad headache, are you susceptible to loud noises? Oh, that would make sense..."

"Sure, yeah, we'll go with that."

"...Let's get you inside." Mistral offered a hand to Rose, who accepted shakily. Mistral took Rose back into, her father's lab, followed close by Ray and Ellen Pines. 

This was bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. At least everyone's okay... Or are they?


	13. I GET TO HURT LIGHTNING BOLT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton is defiant.

**Mettaton**

"WELL, LITTLE LIGHTNING BOLT, THAT WAS CERTAINLY FUN!"

Bill floated back into what he called the Fearamid. If he could grin, he would've been grinning a wide one at Mettaton just then. Mettaton was standing a little distance away from a group of Bill's demons. A couple of them were eyeing him up, and he REALLY didn't like it. It was creeping him out.

He didn't answer Bill. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond to that. A completely insane, evil demon had taken over the world and it was Mettaton's fault. All his.

The chaos in his head didn't help much. As soon as the apocalypse had begun, things had gotten... loud. It was like the worst headache ever combined with nails scraping on a chalkboard and the sight of an unorganized desk.

Bill laughed. "BY THE WAY, GUYS, THIS IS LIGHTNING BOLT! HE'S THE ONE WE CAN THANK FOR ALL OF THIS!" The demons shrieked and hooted in excitement. Mettaton felt sick. With himself or with the demons, he wasn't sure.

"AND LIGHTNING BOLT, THESE ARE MY HENCHMANIACS!" Henchmaniacs. He had to admit, it was a clever name. He waved awkwardly at the Henchmaniacs, not sure what he should do here. He didn't think it wise to ignore the introduction, they could take it as an insult and, well... some of them were the stuff of Mettaton's nightmares.

They only found this more amusing and got even more excited. Mettaton wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse that Bill caught his attention again before anything else could occur.

"INTRODUCTIONS ASIDE, YOU AND I NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE **CHAT**." On the word 'chat', Bill snapped his fingers and he and Mettaton were alone and in a dimly lit room rather like a holding cell. 

"I don't really have anything to say to you, Cipher." Mettaton turned away and glared at the wall. 

"BUT I NEED TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH YOU!" Bill floated in front of Mettaton, making it clear that Mettaton had to look at him. "SEE, I **WAS** JUST GOING TO KILL YOU... BUT WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT?"

"You could always let me go," Mettaton suggested. He could hide away somewhere until this was over... no one would ever have to know it was him... A cowardly solution, but whoever said Mettaton was brave?

"NO, I DON'T THINK SO..." Bill's eye widened excitedly as a thought came to him. "THERE'S AN IDEA!" He paused without saying his idea, looking at Mettaton pointedly.

Mettaton crossed his arms, refusing to give Bill the satisfaction of asking what the idea was.

"...I COULD MAKE YOU MY PUPPET!" Bill looked mildly annoyed at how uncooperative Mettaton was being, which gave Mettaton some satisfaction. 

"You already did, Bill." 

"BUT I COULD MAKE YOU A PROPER PUPPET!" Bill's eye flickered with ideas and symbols. "MY LIGHTNING BOLT! YOU COULD BE... MY RIGHT HAND MAN!"

"I'm not interested in being of any further aid to you." 

"OH, THIS ISN'T A CHOICE KINDA THING!" Bill laughed. "THIS IS HAPPENING."

Mettaton shook his head. "No, because I'm not going to do a thing you say." It seemed like the chaos in his head intensified right at that moment, and he winced a little.

"WE HAVE A DEAL, REMEMBER, KID?" Not only did Bill Cipher's voice reach Mettaton's ears, it cut right through the chaos straight into his mind. 

"I gave you all this, what more could you want?" Mettaton had assumed the deal had ended the moment he'd given Bill his apocalypse.

"YOU, OF COURSE!" He floated closer. "YOU SHOULD REALLY BE MORE CAREFUL WHEN DEALING WITH A DEMON!"

Mettaton stiffened. He'd promised to give Bill whatever he wanted... oh god... no...

"I gave up my very SOUL... Didn't I." It wasn't a question. Mettaton knew it was true. He couldn't refuse Bill anything, not without breaking the deal...

But he would still fight. Bill couldn't make him do anything. He couldn't.

"OH, LIGHTNING BOLT..." Bill sighed. "I DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO DO THIS, BUTCHA LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!" 

He looked even more excited, with a wickedness to his expression. He floated back an inch and pointed one clawed hand at the floor. "ON YOUR KNEES."

"Wha- No!" Mettaton took a step back. He stared Bill right in the eye and attempted to convey the way he would NEVER in a million years do anything Bill said, much less go down in pathetic submission. The chaos grew louder as Bill stared him down right back. You could almost feel the tension in the room.

It quickly became too much for Mettaton and he dropped his gaze. Bill chuckled as the robot lowered himself to the floor, head bowed in shame.

"SO, LIGHTNING BOLT!" Bill's tone was cheerful and triumphant. "YOU **ARE** GOING TO DO WHAT I SAY. YOU KNOW WHY?"

"Enlighten me."

"BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T... WELL." Mettaton started to feel a sharp tingling, right in his SOUL. Another side effect of the deal...?

"THERE'LL HAVE TO BE... CONSEQUENCES!"

On the word consequences, the tingling turned into a sharp pain that spread through his entire body. He screamed. That hurt... so damn much... The synthetic collapsed, unable to hold himself up. Through the dizzying sensations, he heard Bill laughing. Oh god.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND...?" Bill floated down to Mettaton's shaking form, reaching out a hand and lifting Mettaton's chin so that he had to look at him. Mettaton saw the contempt, the triumph, the sheer enjoyment in Bill's eye. It... scared him. He found himself unable to answer Bill, whether out of pain or out of fear.

"I SAID..." Bill's grip tightened. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND??" The demon's voice raised in volume. His hand burned, it hurt, everything hurt, please just make it stop...

Mettaton struggled to make his voice work. "Y... yes..." He forced it out.

The pain subsided and Bill released his grip, allowing Mettaton to collapse back onto the floor. For a moment, Mettaton could see a flicker of disappointment. He guessed that Bill had hoped to have an excuse to torture him for longer.

"THINK THAT OVER, WILL YA? I'LL BE BACK LATER."

Bill snapped his fingers and blue glowing chains sprung from the walls, wrapping themselves around Mettaton's wrists tightly. Bill Cipher could be heard laughing as he disappeared, leaving the synthetic alone in the dark room.

Mettaton quivered, shocked, terrified, humiliated. How had everything gone all wrong...?

He curled into a ball and let himself succumb to the darkness and the chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have officially begun Metta's character development. This means he's going to suffer eternally.


	14. YOU DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistral learns something about Rose that she wishes she'd been told sooner.

**Mistral**

"Mistral?" Her mother leaned down beside her, placing a hand on her knee. "Your father and I are going to go and try to find somewhere safe. Will you be alright here?"

Mistral nodded, glancing at Rose. The ginger's headache seemed only to be getting worse, Mistral was very worried about her friend. She squeezed Rose's hand gently as a way of offering comfort, shooting her an anxious smile. Rose looked at Mistral, smiling back even through the pain.

"We'll be back soon," Mistral's mother said as she stood up and headed over to her husband standing by the door. The two left the lab, and Mistral and Rose were left alone. Mistral looked down at the floor, the two sitting in silence.

"He'll be fine."

"Huh?" Mistral looked up and over at Rose, who was looking off into the distance.

"Mettaton." Rose's green eyes found their way to Mistral, an uncharacteristic solemnity radiating in them. "He'll be fine."

"But what if he isn't?" Mistral's expression scrunched up with anxiety, voicing the concerns that had been on her mind for the past half hour or so. "If he was tricked by Bill, then that means he was right in the thick of things... what if Bill did something to him?"

"That's not what Bill intends for him." Rose sighed, looking away again.

"How do you know what Bill intends?" Mistral could feel a surge of anger flow through her. She knew it was misplaced, but she wasn't able to think rationally. "Are you working with him?"

"Nah. I'm not fond of the guy, personally." Rose's fingers tightened ever so slightly on Mistral's. "Listen, you can still feel him alive, can't you?"

Mistral considered that, searching for Metta's SOUL. It was still there, still blocking her, but still there. "Yeah, he's alive."

Rose nodded and fell silent. Mistral had a very uneasy moment where she realized, she really didn't know whether or not Rose was working for Bill. It could explain everything Rose knew that she shouldn't, if she had ties to a mind reading dream demon... The idea horrified Mistral, that somebody she liked so much could be bringing about the destruction of reality without her even realizing it.

"Hey, I'm kinda included in the whole 'reality' bundle." Rose interrupted Mistral's train of thought. "Relax."

Mistral startled, jumping a little bit to the side. What the hell? Was Rose reading her mind? Maybe ROSE was a dream demon!

"I'm not, don't worry." Rose continued on her trend of responding directly to Mistral's thoughts. Mistral stared at her. She had no idea what to say, there were so many questions circulating through her brain she wasn't sure which to give voice to. Maybe she didn't even have to, though. Rose seemed to be able to read her mind just fine.

"Mistral, it isn't your mind I'm reading, TECHNICALLY." Rose's light tone interrupted Mistral's thoughts, AGAIN. Mistral jumped, the statement hitting her just as hard as the first few. "It's your SOUL. Big pink and yellow heart thing, remember?"

"H..." Mistral's voice shook. How was she supposed to react to a revelation such as this one?? "How???"

Rose shrugged. "I dunno, people in my family can just kinda... Do it. It's both a blessing and a curse. Really more of a curse tbh."

"You don't know any more than that?"

"Not really?" Rose reached a hand towards Mistral, who allowed Rose to take her hand. The touch was calming, she supposed. "Mistral, calm down, I'm still the same Rose. I'm on your side, you understand?"

Mistral slowly nodded. Rose sighed and pulled away, wincing. Mistral supposed she knew where the headache came from now. All the chaos must not be good for Rose. 

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Mistral's voice was almost a whisper, her throat dry. She just couldn't believe it.

"It just wasn't relevant." 

"Of course it's relevant, you've been in my head- everyone's head!"

"It doesn't really change anything." Rose's quiet voice was calm. Mistral hesitated. She guessed that what Rose said made sense. 

Mistral looked to the far wall, noticing the way the paint was chipping on the edges. 

"Ray should really get that repainted." Rose commented. 

"Can you like... Not read my SOUL?" Mistral wasn't really upset anymore. Now she was just uncomfortable. 

"It's not like a voluntary thing. I can't turn it off." Rose glanced at Mistral. "Y'know?"

"Alright." Both fell into a semi-comfortable silence. Mistral supposed overall, this didn't really change her feelings about Rose. She'd already trusted her. Now she was trusting her with a bit more than she'd known before. 

It didn't change the fact that Rose was suffering, and Mistral had to be a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, you guys get to know why Rose is so weird and knows things she shouldn't! 
> 
> Of course, as long as she's telling the truth... Who knows what else she's hiding?


	15. AW, C'MON, HE BROUGHT THIS UPON HIMSELF

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton has a nightmare, forcing him to acknowledge a few faults.

**Mettaton**

_The robot sits and stares at the sky, feeling genuinely happy. It is bright, it is beautiful, and most importantly, it's on the surface. He feels true awe watching this. Beside him, Mistral laughs._

_"It's only a sunrise, Mettaton!"_

_Mettaton looks at her with innocent bright pink eyes. "We didn't HAVE these in the underground." He says defensively. Mistral grins and looks back towards it._

_"I guess it's hard to appreciate something I grew up with." She says, softer. "But I'm glad it makes you happy!"_

_"And I'm glad me being happy makes you glad."_

_"That is so cheesy." Mistral giggles._

_"Yeah, I know." Mettaton laughs as well. This is so nice... just sitting and talking with someone close. He breathes deeply, in and out. His usual reservations seem irrelevant here, being perfect matters less. _

_Mistral gets up to leave. "Hey, I gotta get home," she says. "It's pizza night, you wanna come?" _

_"Oh, sure!" Mettaton grins at her, standing up. As soon as he does, he is overtaken by a strange feeling. He feels dizzy, and he stumbles a bit. Mistral cocks her head at him._

_"Hey, Mettaton, you okay?" _

_He nods. "Y-Yeah, just a dizzy spell I gue-" The words catch in his throat as he's filled with an urge to hurt her, to rip the SOUL from her body. _

_"Mettaton?" _

_"Darling..." His voice is low. He can't make sense of himself as he steps towards her, preparing an electric shock._

_"Mettaton, you don't feel okay oh god this is bad...!" Mistral's voice is full of fear, she can feel what his intentions are and doesn't know what to do about it. She's only a kid. _

_Mettaton grabs her wrist before she can run. She gasps. He presses one hand into her side and presses a knife to her throat with the other. He is unsure where the knife came from. He shocks her as he cuts her neck. It's a quick and easy kill, so underwhelming, the real excitement is the rush that comes with knowing he took the life right from her. _

_Her SOUL appears in front of him, and he absorbs it, immediately filled with power. He is simply retaking what is his. _

_"metta............ no...."_

_His eye widens and he looks at the small ghost. His cousin. They look horrified. And there is Alphys, holding tight to Undyne, who aims a spear at him. It flies towards him and_

The robot gasped awake. That was the most horrible awful nightmare anyone could ever have. The way Blooky looked at him.... he could never do that, right?

**You tried, **his brain whispered over the screaming chaos. **What do you think Blooky would have thought if you'd killed Frisk?**

That's when the demon reappeared and Mettaton leaned into the wall.

Bill Cipher chuckled. "HOW'RE YA FINDING IT, KIDDO?" He floated lower, to be closer to eye level with Mettaton. "HARD TO FIGHT, AIN'T IT?"

"Of course not!" Mettaton hissed out, aware of the fact that it was a blatant lie and that Bill could see into his mind, so it didn't matter anyway. "I will NEVER be yours."

He was starting to get sick of Bill's smug, annoying face that ALWAYS looked like he was laughing at everybody.

"AW, IT'S ADORABLE SEEING YOU TRY TO FIGHT BACK~!" Bill trilled. "AH WELL. YOU'LL COME AROUND. AND UNTIL THEN..." He snapped his fingers and there was a moment of pain. 

Mettaton whimpered, shrinking back. Not more pain... please...

"RELAX, KID... I WON'T DO ANY MORE OF THAT... FOR NOW." Bill laughed like he'd made a hilarious joke. "I JUST WANNA ASK YOU THIS. ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE THE LIFE OF ANOTHER FOR YOUR STUBBORN ATTITUDE?"

"I have nobody I care about enough to save." 

"AW, YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Bill floated about the room, counting on his fingers.

"THE SCIENTIST GIRL, YOUR COUSIN, THAT REDHEAD... LITTLE LIGHTNING STAR..." Bill stopped in front of Mettaton, eye as smug as ever. "EVEN YOUR OWN FANBASE! YOU COULDN'T BEAR IF YOU CAUSED ANOTHER TO SUFFER, THE GUILT WOULD DESTROY YOU! WHAT ABOUT YOUR DREAM JUST NOW?"

"I..." Mettaton didn't know what to say that. Bill was reading him like a book. No, he didn't want anyone to die... but who knew what could happen if he gave himself over to the demon...?

"I HAVE A FEW OF YOUR FRIENDS CAPTURED ALREADY, ACTUALLY! I COULD KILL THEM AT ANY TIME!"

Mettaton's eyes widened. "Wh... who...?" He looked up at Bill with wide eyes. "Who do you have?" 

"THAT WOULD BE TELLING, WOULDN'T IT!" Bill laughed again. That laugh was starting to get on Mettaton's nerves... "ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS JOIN ME, AND THEIR LIVES WILL BE SPARED! YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT FELT LIKE IN THE NIGHTMARE, DON'T YOU? IT FELT NIIIICE?"

"I won't hurt anyone for you." Mettaton whispered. He was insistent. Bill floated back, eye flashing with disappointment.

"WELL, I HAVE TO GO! ALREADY, I KNOW... BUT THE HENCHMANIACS AND I ARE CELEBRATING! SAYONARA~!"

"No, wait, don't-" But it was too late. Bill was already gone. 

**Please, I don't want to be alone** **...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think this story has nearly enough Blooky.   
Ah well. They get more relevant very soon. 
> 
> This is not the worst Mettaton will go through. Not even close.


	16. I COULD USE SOMEONE LIKE HIM...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mistral meets Rose's father.

**Mistral**

"Good news, we still have plumbing!"

Mistral smiled wide as she brought a cup of water back to where Rose was sitting. The redhead hadn't moved since Mistral had left. She didn't look at Mistral, just took the cup out of her hands. 

"Now if only I could get a signal..." Mistral muttered as she pulled out her phone, sitting back down next to Rose. Rose glanced over at Mistral's screen, before wincing and looking away. Bright lights weren't great for headaches. 

"It doesn't seem likely." Rose said softly. "Unless some weird chaos-y stuff zaps the power back on."

"What are the chances of THA-" Mistral cut herself short and let out a freaked scream as the building lights suddenly burst on. 

"...not surprised." Rose observed. "TBH as soon as I said it wasn't likely it sounded dumb."

"Jeez, you think this apocalypse has an attitude...?" 

"I mean yeah." 

Mistral sighed and looked back down at her cracked phone. Ah, there was a signal! Now, if her parents tried to call her, they'd be able to reach her! She wished she knew someone, anyone she could call right then. But all they could do was wait. 

Mistral felt a surge of anger. At Mettaton, at Bill, at her parents for leaving them there. This sucked. She couldn't BELIEVE she'd ever wanted something exciting to happen. Because, as it turned out, exciting things weren't fun! God damnit!

Now that something like this had happened, all she wanted was for everything to go back to normal. So she could yell at Mettaton for doing something so STUPID! If only he would respond to her frantic thoughts... Mistral wished her parents would just return already, because clearly the lack of anything happening was getting to her. 

_Bang bang bang! _

Mistral jumped to her feet in shock, tense and wary. She faced the barricaded door. That was NOT her parents' super secret special knock. Who in the WORLD could it possibly be? There was no chance she was letting them in. No way. They could be dangerous, they could hurt her or Rose. 

Speaking of Rose, the redhead was jumping to her feet (with a slight wince, that headache was definitely not fun) and running to open the door. She pushed the small shelf being used as blockage aside. Rose, no, stop it, what are you doing-

Rose looked back over to Mistral, smiling tightly as she unlocked the deadbolt. She tapped her head. Mistral cocked her own. She guessed Rose would know if there was someone (or something) bad out there.

The door opened quickly. An older man who looked like he could be about her own father's age embraced Rose into a tight hug. Mistral's eyes widened in shock. Wha-? Who was this, that he knew Rose so well? Rose had never mentioned him. To be fair, they had only known each other for a month or so...

She watched as Rose hugged the man back with shaky arms. His eyes were shut tight as he held her close. Mistral looked down at her feet, awkward. She felt like she was intruding on something. Like she shouldn't be there. 

"Hey, Mistral." Rose called over softly. Mistral looked up in mild surprise. The two were pulling out of the hug, and the man was turning back towards the door, setting up the barricade once more. "Come meet my dad."

"Your..." Mistral looked between the man and Rose, walking closer to the two. He straightened up and turned to face her with a gentle smile on his face. Mistral's eyes widened. She could really see the family resemblance. 

Rose's father had dark red hair, a lot darker than that of his daughter. Mistral had never seen hair quite that colour before. His eyes were a dark, deep green. It was almost unsettling, the way his eyes searched her. They were depths, staring into her SOUL. Actually, she wouldn't be surprised, knowing what Rose could do... 

He must've been older than she thought, to be Rose's father, but he looked like a young man. He had a lithe form and was short. Taller than both Rose and Mistral, but still short. Mistral took it all in, just a teeny bit overwhelmed. She blinked, breaking eye contact with those green eyes of his. 

"Um..." Her cheeks heated up slightly. She didn't wanna embarrass herself in front of such a striking adult. Mistral offered her hand in a polite handshake. "Nice to meet you, um... Mr. Eaton...?"

"Call me Felix." He grinned, accepting the handshake. Mistral's eyes widened. This guy had such a strong vibe. Such an age difference, and yet she felt safe around him. Like she could tell him anything. 

Felix raised an eyebrow as their hands broke apart smoothly. "I'm glad you feel that way, Mistral." His lips turned up at the corner in a gentle smirk. "As an emotional consultant, I like it when people feel that they can talk to me."

Mistral cried out in shock. She'd expected it, but somehow it had still caught her off guard. It wasn't FAIR to respond directly to someone's thoughts like that. Felix cocked his head, evidently hearing that thought. It seemed to amuse him to some degree.

"So... you CAN do it, too..." Mistral stared into his eyes for a moment. She looked to Rose. These two were a complete shock. She knew about magic existing in the monsters and such things as that, but... She'd never realized that... Humans could have powers too?

"Of course we can." Rose once again did not wait for Mistral to voice anything. "It's not that far-fetched." 

"I just..." Mistral's mind was whirling. She couldn't think of anything. It all came and went in flashes. "I just never..."

"Maybe you should sit down." Felix's voice was gentle as he took Mistral's hand and guided her to the closest office chair. Mistral allowed him to help her into a sitting position. "Today's been difficult for everyone."

Felix looked towards his daughter, smiling gently. Mistral could see tiredness on his face. She supposed he must have rushed to find Rose as fast as possible. He must've been incredibly worried. For a father to love his daughter so much... Mistral had never thought about that. She wondered if her own father would do the same for her.

"Mistral..." Felix's gaze searched her. He cocked his head. Mistral realized he must've heard that thought. Well. That was embarrassing. Felix let out a small chuckle, seemingly not continuing his train of thought, and pulled up a chair of his own. Rose, probably since everyone else was sitting down and also her horrendous headache, settled in a distant spinny chair and nyoomed over.

"You were curious about how humans could have powers without monsters around, yeah?" Felix picked up an entirely new train of thought. Or an older one, depending on how you look at it.

"R-Right."

"Well, to tell the truth, our particular brand of magic goes back a few generations in the Eaton family." Felix mused, appearing thoughtful. He seemed to be taking Mistral's questions very seriously. Mistral supposed he didn't often get chances to explain this sort of thing to people. "In fact, it can be traced all the way back to one of the Seven that sealed the monsters underground!" He grinned for a brief moment, before letting the smile drop. "Of course, she caused so much suffering for an entire species for a very long time, but... I suppose it's alright now. It's interesting to be descended from someone so powerful, at the very least."

"Is it?" Mistral was starting to notice a tendency of his to ramble, oh dear lord...

"Apologies. Sometimes my words just follow my train of thought and I can get carried away." He chuckled, appearing apologetic.

"Happens a lot." Rose interjected. Mistral looked between them before nodding. She didn't mind the ramble all THAT much.

"Glad to hear it." Felix sighed, relieved, despite the fact that he hadn't heard anything because Mistral had THOUGHT that. "In that case, I'll keep going. It might help to pass the time until your parents return, anyhow. I'd enjoy being able to help keep you distracted." 

"...I think that would be really helpful." Mistral nodded. It would also be nice to get answers about at least one thing that had been thrust upon her today. Then she wouldn't be focusing on Mettaton's disappearance, either... 

"Good." The older man nodded, deep eyes on Mistral's. Mistral got the vibe that there was a lot going on inside that mind that didn't translate to his outer expressions. Maybe with the ability to hear what others were thinking, you also became good at concealing what YOU were thinking? In any case, Felix didn't acknowledge THAT train of thought. "The power continued down throughout the generations, not always even manifesting in the same way! I believe my daughter's ability... Is slightly different to mine."

Mistral looked towards Rose. The girl was looking towards the door silently. What was different about her? Felix didn't seem like he was going to clarify. She looked back towards him, waiting patiently for her attention, his smile widening once more once he had it.

"Enough about that. How does it WORK? That's what you're wondering, right?" He leaned towards her, eager. She nodded, slightly taken aback. Felix grinned, evidently about to drop some truth bombs.

"The truth is... I have no idea."

_What???_

"Hey, that was cruel!" Mistral pushed as much annoyance into her voice as possible, broadcasting it loudly through her SOUL as well, trying to ignore both Eatons trying to hold in laughs. "You should stick to things you DO know!"

"Fine, fine." Felix snorted with laughter before returning to the more serious vibe, which was more appropriate. Don't get her wrong, a bit of humour wasn't entirely unwelcome, but still. "As you already know, our ability allows us to read the SOULs of anyone around us. It's given us a lot of perspective about how SOULs work. SOUL traits, SOUL magic... We might be the only humans who knew about this kind of thing prior to monsters being released."

"I'm starting to think you don't know much of anything actually about the ability." Mistral raised an eyebrow. 

"You're right about that. It's not like I've ever studied it, or had someone else do it for me. I just happen to know a lot about other facets of magic through it!" Felix grinned. "Convenient, huh? Especially in these trying times! It might turn out to be-" Felix stopped mid-sentence to whirl around towards Rose, staring at her in shock. It was rather shocking and sudden. "WHAT?" 

But before Mistral could receive an explanation as to the thought Felix had picked up on...

_Knock, knockity knockity knock._

Mistral jumped to her feet. That was her parents' knock! She quickly ran to the door and pushed aside the blockage, hugging her parents tightly as soon as the door was open. 

"Hi, Mistral." Ray said softly, hugging her in return. 

Ellen knelt down to eye level. "I'm glad you're alright, Mistral."

"I'm glad YOU'RE alright." Mistral whispered. Ellen smiled reassuringly before straightening back up. 

"Who might you be?" Ray looked Felix up and down. 

Felix smirked, offering a handshake. "Felix Eaton. Nice to meet you, Ray." Mistral's father looked confused as he shook Felix's hand. 

"...Likewise." He gave a quick shake of his head and turned back to Mistral and his wife. "Ellen, can you go get the others from outside?" Mistral's mother nodded and quickly headed back into the chaos. 

"Others?" Mistral cocked her head. 

"We've gathered people who want shelter here." Ray hesitated before continuing. "And... The starts of a Resistance."

Mistral nodded, accepting that easily. A Resistance was a perfect idea. Maybe if she was part of that, she could find out what had happened to Mettaton... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really love Felix. He's funky.


	17. YOU THINK THIS IS BAD? TRY LIVING IN THE NIGHTMARE REALM!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mettaton is alone with his thoughts.

**Mettaton**

How long had it been? Days, weeks, months? Or... just minutes? No. No, he couldn't bear the thought. It had to have been longer. 

The chaos was loud, the world was loud, it hurt, the noise, it hurt so much... How was he supposed to keep fighting all this? Why was he fighting? What would happen if he just... let himself become part of the chaos?

The robot dimly remembered a very good reason... The demon, Bill Cipher, he wanted to use him for awful purposes... Right. But did it even matter anymore? Bill had been gone a very long time, Mettaton was alone, so alone, he just wanted to see someone, anyone, have an interaction with another living thing.

The longing was so strong... maybe if he gave in, Bill would come back... he sighed and stopped fighting.

The chaos began to spread throughout, it was LOUD, it was strong, it hurt, no, this wasn't right...

He searched his mind for something, anything he knew for fact, latching onto it in a panicked fervor. His name was... M... Mettablook. No, it was Mettaton now. Mettaton Blook. Right? And that was because... His name had changed when he became a robot. Yeah. 

**My ****name is Mettaton Blook. I ****am 18 years old and I** **am a** **ghost monster turned robotic TV star.** **My SOUL trait is HOPE.**

Were his friends okay? Bill had said they could die, right? What if it had been so long they were all dead? What if Mettaton was next? 

Well, being dead would be almost preferable to this.

**My name is Mettaton Blook.** **I'm 17...** **or,** **18 years old and I'm a..****. robot**. **As seen on TV~!**

The facts were becoming harder and harder to remember. There was so little he COULD remember. The faces of his friends... why he was fighting... even who he was... he could FEEL it all leaving him and it scared him. When he was gone, what would stop Bill from taking what was left as his... as his slave?

Nothing would. Nothing could, Bill was all powerful. Because of... Mettaton...

**My name is **_**Mettaton.**_ _**I'm **_**_18 _**_and I'm a_ _robot._

Bill called him Lightning Bolt. Maybe THAT was his name. Maybe he didn't know anything about himself anymore... What was the truth, what was a lie? He couldn't be sure.

Waves of nausea, his vision was blurry, his SOUL barely glowed... He was losing hope. Nothing could save him, nothing could stop Bill, everything was pointless, why was he fighting, he should just...

_My name is Lightning Bolt._ _And I_ _will do whatever I_ _have to do to serve my Master._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh, looks like it finally happened! I wonder what 'Lightning Bolt' will do... Concerning, huh?


	18. FUNNY THAT THEY THINK THEY HAVE A CHANCE!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance forms a plan.

**Mistral**

Mistral stuck very close to the Eatons and her family, feeling dizzy as she listened to the discussion going on in the conference room of the lab. It turned out that Ford had been gathering people who would be willing to help take Bill down, with assistance from Dipper and Mabel. Right now, the new members of this Resistance were discussing plans. Mistral, Dipper, Mabel, and Frisk the monster ambassador were the youngest people present, it looked like. Apparently Dipper and Mabel had dealt with this almost exact situation before, Frisk had been in high-risk situations, and Mistral's presence was due to her insider's knowledge about the situation.

"We have to stop him before it gets any worse." Dipper slammed his hand down on the table. "Last time... I'm not letting any of that happen again."

Mabel placed a hand on her brother's and the two appeared to have a bit of a twin moment. After a moment, Mabel looked out to everyone else. "Dipper's right! Bill's apocalypse can seem good sometimes, but... It's really not!"

"M-Mistral, you..." Alphys spoke up nervously. "Y-you really have no idea where... Where he is?"

"I'm worried too, Alphys..." Mistral bit her lip. "But I have no idea where Mettaton is. Sorry."

Ford placed a hand on Mistral's shoulder. "That's alright, Mistral." His expression was serious. "However, there's a high chance he's been placed into some sort of bubble. My niece, Mabel, was placed into one before."

"It acted like a dream come true, but then it turned into a nightmare!" Mabel explained.

"There's no form of bubble visible in the sky, if I may cut in." Felix interjected, from his position peering through the blinds, behind Mistral. "From what I understand, Mabel's bubble was very large and visible. To be fair, that was on a smaller scale... But in this situation, it appears Bill actually cares about keeping Mettaton's whereabouts hidden. I wonder why that is?"

"And what do you know about any of this?" Stan raised an eyebrow, marching over to Felix.

"Oh!" Felix chuckled, smiling at everybody. "Hi. I'm Felix. I've been reading all of your minds the whole time I've been here. SOULs, to be technical. But who cares about technicalities? That's a good point from more than one of you, lots of people care about technicalities, I'm sorry."

There was a bit of a clamour as everyone reacted with shock and embarrassment. Oh jeez. Mistral had already been THROUGH this. It wasn't actually that big a deal once you got used to it. 

"Oops." Felix winked at Mistral, snorting. Rose laughed softly.

"Okay! Whatever, he reads SOULs!" Ray stood up from his chair. "We need to get on with business. There's a demon out there, trying to hurt my family for apparently the second time. Not to mention, the whole world is endangered right now."

"We're past endangerment!" Stan threw up his arms. "The world's already gone!"

"But we can get it back!" Dipper looked determined once more. "Bill has been defeated before. He can be defeated again!"

"Yes! Okay!" Ray grinned at his nephew. "How was he defeated last time?"

"Well..." Ford seemed somewhat hesitant. "We convinced him to enter Stanley's mind... And then we wiped it. But his memories returned... And Bill came back too."

Everyone in the room looked towards Stan, who crossed his arms grumpily. "What? It's not like he's still in there."

Mistral... Wasn't sure that was true. She had a vague memory, from when she'd shared Metta's memories... That was suspicious.

"It seems to me that that is not a permanent solution." King Asgore spoke up for the first time. "We'll need to come up with a new plan."

"Yeah! The king's right!" Undyne said enthusiastically, pointing her spear in the air. "We need to take this guy DOWN!"

Mistral started to feel a twinge in her SOUL. What was... Going on...? She placed a hand to her head. She felt Rose take her other hand and give it a gentle squeeze. Mistral smiled up at her friend shakily.

"I-I'd like it if our first order of business... Could be to rescue Mettaton." Alphys glanced at a ghost floating beside her. Napstablook... Mettaton's cousin. "He c-could really be a big asset against Bill!"

"Right... But that brings us back to the problem of not knowing where he is." Ray said thoughtfully. "If we had some clue..."

"AH, IS A CLUE WHAT YOU NEED?" Bill's voice rang throughout the room, under Stan's own voice. Mistral felt a sharp pain shoot through her, and she dropped her head, tense, holding both hands to it now. "WELL, I SUPPOSE I COULD ASSIST!"

Ford jumped away from his brother, pushing Dipper and Mabel behind him. Everyone else inched further away from Stan as well. Or, as Mistral could somehow feel strongly... Bill. "You! Demon! Get out of his body!"

"OH, SIXER, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU TOO!" Bill laughed maniacally with Stan's voice. "I MEAN, AFTER YOU TRIED TO KILL ME! GOOD TIMES, HUH?" He didn't wait for a response. "BUT IT DIDN'T WORK!! INSTEAD, YOU JUST GAVE ME A WAY INTO YOUR BROTHER'S MIND! WOW, THAT ONE SURE BACKFIRED ON YOU!"

"Why are you even bothering to possess him?" Dipper sounded disgusted and angry. Mistral couldn't blame him. "Can't you just appear here?"

"UNFORTUNATELY, NO, PINE TREE!" Bill's smile twisted into an angry expression for a moment. "SIXER ALREADY PUT UP WARDS TO KEEP ME OUT, THE CLEVER BASTARD!"

"Then you should know you're unwanted here." Ray narrowed his eyes. "This is my lab, and I don't take kindly to unwelcome guests!"

"RELAX! I'M JUST HERE TO OFFER A LITTLE INVITATION!" Bill smirked. "YOU WANT THE ROBOT BACK, DON'TCHA?"

"So you DO have him!" Undyne pointed at Bill accusingly.

"OF COURSE! HE WAS VITAL IN MAKING THIS ALL POSSIBLE!" Bill laughed. "AS WELL AS THIS YOUNG ONE, OF COURSE. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP, KID!" He winked down at Mistral, tilting her head up with his fingers. Mistral could feel the pull from him in her SOUL.

"Don't touch my daughter." Ray growled out as Felix stepped between Stan's possessed body and Mistral. Rose stayed next to Mistral, her presence being honestly comforting.

"WOULDN'T DREAM OF IT." Bill snorted in a chillingly Stan way. "LISTEN, YOU WANNA TAKE ME DOWN? LIGHTNING BOLT HAS VITAL INFORMATION TO HELP MAKE THAT POSSIBLE!"

"You're only telling us this because you have something to gain from it!" Ford said aggressively. "I know your tricks, Cipher. We're not falling for it."

"OH, BUT SIXER, DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TURN DOWN SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY?" Bill grinned. "I'LL LET YOU COME TO MY FEARAMID, GIVE YOU A REAL CHANCE TO RETRIEVE THE KID, AND I'LL EVEN GIVE YOU A FREE ATTACK! WHY NOT SHOW UP, SEE WHAT YOU CAN THROW AT ME?"

"Why would you let us do that?" Ray took a stunned step back. "There's no way this isn't a trap."

"I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOUR FEEBLE LITTLE GROUP CAN COME UP WITH!" Bill's eyes narrowed. "IT'LL BE **INTERESTING.**"

Mistral let out a pained cry as a shock shot through her. Why had that word... hurt...? Her father shot her an alarmed glance.

"What did you do to her?"

"TO LIGHTNING STAR?" Bill chuckled. "NOT MUCH. SHE'S JUST FEELING THE EFFECTS OF MY POSSESSION HERE! NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"

"Mistral..." Ray's voice was full of worry. "Then fine, we'll think about your offer. Just... leave."

"FINE, SCHEME AWAY! YOU HAVE UNTIL SUNDOWN TOMORROW... WHENEVER THAT MAY BE!"

Bill let out one last maniacal laugh and the yellow faded from Stan's eyes. Mistral immediately started to feel better. Her father rushed to her side and kneeled before her.

"Why would his presence affect specifically her?" He felt Mistral's forehead, as though she had a fever or something, and she smiled weakly at him.

"I'm okay now, Dad. Don't worry."

"I-It's probably due to her SOUL being c-connected to Mettaton's..." Alphys explained.

"Right, and they made a deal... Mistral, what did this deal entail?" Ford also moved closer to Mistral.

"...I'm not sure. When they made the deal, Bill didn't say what... the conditions were."

"Yes, which means he has full access to Mettaton's SOUL." Felix stated. "If I'm seeing this correctly, Mettaton said he'd give whatever Bill wanted. That's far too unspecific. Bill can take anything from him now."

"Then it's too dangerous to try to go!" Mabel's eyes were wide. "Bill can just control him, right?"

"No... this is far too good a chance to pass up on." Felix's hands curled into fists. "We already have at least one person here he can control, and we're still mostly safe."

Stan 'hmph'ed. "There better be a way to get him out of here."

"Oh! I'll start trying to build something to do just that right now!" Ray started gathering up a few notebooks and things from around the room. "Don't worry, I won't let that happen again!" He grinned.

"O-Oh! I'll help you!" Alphys followed him out of the room in a panic.

"I should also assist, since I've built anti-Bill technology before, but..." Ford sighed. "We need a plan first. We've tried to kill him before, and it hasn't worked. When we did the Zodiac, we failed. That plan is too risky, and most of the members are still in Gravity Falls..."

"His Fearamid is centered there, it seems, so that wouldn't exactly be a problem." Felix was looking out the window again. He turned to the others, shrugging. "Honestly, I think it's worth a shot."

"What's the Zodiac?" Mistral asked softly. She vaguely remembered Mabel referencing some sorta Zodiac but Mabel had said too many things to really take... any of them in.

Ford pulled out a notebook and opened to a page with a drawing of Bill, surrounded by 10 symbols. "Each of these symbols is associated with a different person. We gathered them all together before, and it almost worked, before-"

"Before this jerk was too stuck up to let ANYTHING go." Stan jerked his thumb at Ford in annoyance.

"That was very clearly not my fault, Stanley!" Ford narrowed his eyes. "You're the one who broke from the circle!"

"Yeah, because you-"

"C'mon! Stop fighting!" Mabel stepped in between her grunkles. "It's not the time for this!! You're family, we need to just get along!"

"...Yes, Mabel's right." Ford sighed. "However, we need something that can distract Bill for as long as it takes for us to get the Zodiac going."

"Ugh, it's futile!" Dipper threw up his arms. "It's not going to go any different from last time!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that..." Rose spoke for the first time since this gathering had begun. Mistral looked up at her in surprise. She looked determined. Even despite the pain she was in... Rose stepped forward and looked around the room. "This time, we have something that you didn't before."

Frisk, another person who had been quite thus far, gasped and grinned. "You mean, monster magic!"

The humans looked towards the monster's gathered, who looked surprised. Undyne nodded, hefting her spear.

"Not even just monster magic." Rose jumped past Mistral to stand on the table. "I mean, all you really need to do to use magic is have a decent understanding of your own soul. And humans do have SOULs."

"...This inspiring girl is correct." Asgore nodded. "But humans have forgotten how to use their power."

"Well, I've been looking into SOULs for years! I understand human SOULs firsthand!" Felix smiled, looking admirably at his daughter. "The information on human magic isn't even hidden, if you look for it. It's just that since the fall of the monsters, our magic faded into legend."

"But the old writings are still intact." Rose grinned. "And now that the monsters are back, humans can become connected to their SOULs again. If, while the Zodiac was being created, the rest of us were able to fight Bill with magic, which might even be able to rival his own power, we could take him down!"

Mistral's eyes widened. Maybe they really could kill Bill and get Mettaton back!

"That's a good idea." Ford nodded. "In that case, we should start preparations immediately. Looks like we're going back to Gravity Falls."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so difficult to write ahhhhhhh,,, anyways, look at all those character cameos!


	19. OOH, I BROKE HIM!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The robot lets go.

**Lightning** **Bolt**

Lightning Bolt rocked back and forth, praying for the demon to come back soon. He was going insane, he could feel it... he just needed his new Master to save him... please... he couldn't bear this crippling loneliness...

"WELL WELL WELL, WHAT HAVE WE HERE...?" Bill Cipher was smirking down at Lightning Bolt. Or at least, it looked like a smirk. It was probably a smirk. "DESPERATE FOR **MY** COMPANY? I'M FLATTERED, LIGHTNING BOLT!"

Lightning Bolt's cheeks darkened. He didn't say anything. He was dimly aware of how pathetic he was now, but he couldn't take the isolation, the pain, the awful nightmares... please, no longer.

Master chuckled. "YOU REALLY ARE MINE NOW!" He floated low to Lightning Bolt's level and cupped the synthetic's chin in his palm. Lightning winced, afraid of pain. Like last time. "AW, DON'T WORRY, I WON'T HURT YA, KID... I DON'T NEED TO NOW THAT I'VE **WON**."

"P... please..." Lightning Bolt whispered. "Please let me out of here..."

He would do anything. Anything his Master could desire from him, Lightning would do it.

"ANYTHING, HUH...?" Master's eye narrowed. Lightning Bolt nodded. "WELL THEN, HERE'S WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a remarkably short chapter, but the next one is a BIG one, soooo....


End file.
